9% more productivity, guaranteed!

I thought I’d share some of the ideas and software that make me more productive. I was wondering what to write about and realised I was staring at them: I use 2 monitors.



Why 2?

Well according to Microsoft Research 2 screens are better than 1, because they:

• Make it easier to complete tasks.

• Increase productivity between 9% and 50% (for tasks such as cutting & pasting).

• Improve memory by engaging your peripheral vision.

• Benefit women more by improving spatial perception.


Supporting these results, a survey by Jon Peddie Research indicates gains of 20-30%, and this small, informal multiple monitor productivity study, estimates a coder’s lines of code per day to increase 10%, and bugs to decrease by 26%.

To make managing windows easier, and increase my productivity further, I use a little program called Ultramon. It adds icons to every window’s title bar. They let me switch windows between monitor and expand them across both monitors, which is fantastic for spreadsheets. The program also adds another task bar to the second monitor, which I find invaluable.

Imagine being even 10% more efficient at your computer. Think of the money that would save; how much easier your work day would be; and, how much sexier your workspace would be? This Christmas spend a little extra on yourself, and get a good second LCD monitor and a dual-head video card (NB: Laptops usually have these as standard).

Trust me. Once you go dual, you’ll never go back.