Mastering Workspace Efficiency: The Two-Primary Workspace Strategy

Intro

Let's imagine: you are working on your computer. And you are using multiple workspaces. Some programs take the first three, and you may want to start doing a different activity by opening programs on the fourth and fifth workspaces. You are used to switching between the first two workspaces using Alt+1 and Alt+2 shortcuts. You are not used to using Alt+4 and Alt+5, so you find it uncomfortable to switch between the fourth and fifth ones. In this post, I discuss how to avoid this kind of situation, where you, by trying to utilize empty workspaces, have to think more about switching, while you do not have to do that with the first two workspaces because of your habit of switching between them.

The Two-Primary Workspace Strategy

I discovered this strategy recently, when I used the fourth workspace to open a program to play an audio and to open a book, while the fifth one I used for a vocabulary. The reason for choosing the fourth and the fifth workspaces is that I had other programs open on the first three workspaces. There I had only two primary workspaces, while the third one contained the timer app, which was used a couple of times every 30 minutes, which I consider to be rare usage. To use the fourth and fifth workspaces was a default choice to make, so that I do not create clutter on the first three workspaces. But how do I switch between not-so-often-used workspaces? Alt+4 and Alt+5 are used to switch to relevant workspaces where the new programs are opened. So, if I am only used to using Alt+1 and Alt+2 all the time, why then should I use other workspaces in a similar manner that I am using the first two ones? And by a similar manner, I mean that I switch often between two of them.

As I discussed earlier, I didn't want clutter on the first three workspaces; therefore, I have chosen to use other workspaces. But if we think about it, what is better: to have our programs on the first three workspaces to be as they are, not minimized or closed, so they are left untouched, and this way we can use the fourth and the fifth workspaces for our new activities, or maybe, it is worth the effort to open our new programs in the first two workspaces, while minimizing all other programs in there, or at least making sure that our new programs will be always on top? By choosing the second option, we can still use our habitual Alt+1 and Alt+2 shortcuts, which are automatic, unlike the Alt+4 and Alt+5.

For so much time, I just blindly used the fourth and the fifth workspaces and didn't think about this strategy. This new way of managing workspaces may seem like a simple thing, but sometimes simple things can be hidden from us.

Conclusion

That's it! This is how you can solve the problem of managing multiple workspaces and having to think often about where you want to go. With this new strategy, you just try to use your two primary workspaces as much as possible, while using others for programs that you use rarely. If you like this article, please share it with someone who might find it interesting too. Like my blog? Subscribe to the newsletter.

Got questions? Send an email to commitnobug@outlook.com.