Asklemmy

I have two monitors but swap between two desktops. I wish I had a triple setup. I usually do hella coursework on it. I use split screen in each monitor so I have the guidelines of the project the full window project, documentation/notes, word, then discord, IRC, and background music.

I have three. The third doesn't really boost my productivity much, I have it vertical just to show my file browser because I open and switch through different files quite a lot. The other two are to show the actual files I'm working in or comparing.

Data on one side, assessment write up on the other. Extremely convenient. Not sure if I’m more productive or if I’m just happier.

Gaming: I have a game that has tons of third party software that tracks game elements real-time that are far easier to read, contain more information, and more readily understandable than any in-game menu. So play the game on one monitor, have the apps running in windows on the second one.

3D design. Have the work window open for maximum real estate on one monitor, have pop-out menus and tools on the other for things that maybe don’t have hot keys or shortcuts assigned. Also, a small browser window for “how do I” question when I hit a roadblock.

Two monitors one computer? Bah! Why not two monitors two computers!

One main monitor connected to my Windows machine, and a second monitor next to it connected to my work Mac. Using Synergy, one mouse and keyboard plugged into Windows controls both machines.

Then, add a Framework laptop propped up on the left running Linux, also controlled with Synergy. Three monitors, three computers! Now when people ask what OS I run it's an easy answer: all of them at the same time lol

I've got two monitors which mostly ends up meaning I have twice the amount of screen to lose application windows in.

Scientist here, a lot of my job is writing texts with references to other literature of the field, or reviewing such texts (or PowerPoints). Main screen has the document open, the other is actually in portrait format and has gazillions of open pdfs on it that are relevant to whatever I'm working on. I had to get this setup for working from home because productivity dropped immensely with only one screen.

not a software dev, but a linux user and a stout technology enthusiast.

I have 3 monitors setup on my primary workstation. Two landscape in a stacked arrangement, it's just tidy and works well enough for a secondary media display, organizational monitor. And then my third is portrait for anything i keep long term tabs on, chat programs, music player, system resources, etc...

I recently switched from KDE to i3wm, and i find i need inherently less monitor. i3wm does all the sorting organization and bullshit i hate for me automagically, it's perfect for opening a terminal to check something, or work on something real quick, and being able to have one static window, and two tabbed/stacked windows on one monitor is HUGE. Super nice for terminal breakouts with a browser for documentation. If you're ever balls deep in a config and testing shit actively, you'll immediately understand how much of a godsend it is.

Anyway, floating window managers are dead and anything shipping a floating window manager is a dead product on arrival.

Big center monitor: ide, terminal

Big left monitor: browser. Jira ticket, documentation, email, etc. sometimes also notes. Http client (trying Bruno now).

Small laptop monitor: slack, sticky notes

Author (not very successful, but still).

Main screen is for writing and editing. Second screen holds notes, maps, etc for reference as I write. If I'm editing, second screen usually has a music player going, along with notes about changes needed.

I can't say it's necessary, but the second screen really does help keep me focused better. Instead of having to switch windows and then come back, or have windows stacked up and have to move things, being able to just glance at the secondary screen is awesome.

Like, I'll have my name list up, a map of the area, and the notes for the chapter up on the secondary screen, with a fourth window tiled with any extras needed (like quick sketches for things). It's a mid sized monitor (27 inch iirc), so everything is readable with my reading glasses but it doesn't hog desk space. The main monitor is a 31 inch where I can have librewriter up and sized to where I need it, with a notepad window to the side for copy/paste usage or quick sections that inspiration hits but it isn't the right section to just enter it into the working file.

Compared to the single monitor set up I used to have, it saves me time, and *more important) allows me to stay in flow state better, which means better writing, with less editing needed later. I can, when I'm actually writing rather than trying to write, double or triple my output compared to before.

i work in video. i have one monitor as my primary "work" space. that's where i put my timeline, or whatever I'm working on the most in that moment. sometimes it's color controls, sometimes it's keyframes and effects controls.

monitor 2 is actually my best monitor. that's the video clean feed. that's my big color accurate monitor.

monitor 3 is bins and scopes and effects and whatever other control surfaces and monitors i might need.

Two and a half monitors here. Two connected to my desktop (one normal one vertical) and my laptop below them.

My laptop is for Teams calls, and the occasional reference page or video, but is mostly ignored until I need it. The main large monitor for editors and email. The vertical one for references and notes.

I would love a third monitor for the desktop but my desk is too narrow for that to be realistic.

I'm a FE and A11y focused SWE

Laptop screen: IDE / main browser

Main monitor: terminal with dev server, and browser to localhost

I wish I could have a small, third monitor for just the terminal but my Mac struggles with one extra monitor. I also tend to work at 150% zoom because of terrible eyesight, so I don't actually have that much screen real estate.

2 27” 4k monitors. I do 98% of everything on the main monitor. The screen to the right contains a few sticky notes (I use Zhorn Stickies) and a Ticktick widget with all my tasks for the day. When I start up Obsidian, I have a saved Ivy Lee list that appears in a spot on the right side monitor as well. It’s just basically quick-glance scrap space.

I have an 34inch ultrawide as my main, and two 27inch screens, one above and one to the side. It's pretty awesome, play a game or do some work on the main monitor, videos, web pages, instructions in the right, and discord or other pages on the top.

Virtual desktops, multi monitor and tmux allow me to go full ADHD, everything open at once, multiple projects on different desktops with like 5 windows open

Bonus points when I've got multiple terminals connected to the same tmux session because I forgot I already had it on another desktop or wanted it split with something else

My home setup is an ultrawide and a 1080p monitor. I find with tiling and virtual desktops more than that is surplus to requirement (even the 1080p monitor usually just has a browser open)

• Monitor 1: Outlook
• Monitor 2: Browser and various messaging apps
• Monitor 3 (the big screen): IDE

I have 2 at work. Sometimes I just have our ticket software on one and Firefox on another both full screen. When works crunching I might have multiple PDF manuals open on one and PDF schematics on another and could use a 3rd for a browser window to search for old similar problems in our daily reports. I'm able to work best when I can keep 1 screen dedicated to what I'm working on and the others for information gathering.

At home I typically just have 1 screen for gaming. I might set my laptop up on the desk if I want to browse the web or chat while playing.

Media editing and production. Otherwise it's dope to have my email, texts, torrents, Explorer/Finder, and music occupy one screen, and my web browser in the other.

Chat/docs/IDE across three monitors. Throw in a terminal and music player too tiled on the two vertical monitors.

I have 3 monitors. One I use for email/slack. The others I use for database and backend coding and VMs. I honestly the 3rd monitor is great. Aside from email and slack. I can use it for any additional documentation, requirements, or JIRA. Honestly, 3 monitors is the way to go in my opinion.

I only have 1 ultra wide monitor. It's slightly less screen space than 2 monitors, but it's enough, and I like the simplicity of it.

2 is the bare minimum for work as a sysadmin.
3 is better, then I can dedicate one to communication (email, Teams, softphone), one for documentation and one to actually work on. I could see 4 being useful if you work both locally and on terminal servers but I've never tried it.

I have an ultrawide as my main monitor and a regular wide screen monitor floating above it on an arm. The main thing I need all that space for is running ttrpg games, honestly. Roll20 or some other vtt open on one side of the ultrawide, then other side has rule book pdfs, enemy stat blocks, notes, etc. The top monitor has discord for chat as well as everyone's webcams.

But outside of that it's nice to have a browser or discord visible on one screen while playing a game on the main display, but you could get by without it.

Software engineer. Work from home and I use the same monitors for work and personal.

Usually for work, I have code in the middle, specs on the left and the app on the right. When I’m not using specs, I have Spotify or video related things on one monitor.

For personal use, gaming is done on the middle monitor. Sometimes I have Spotify on the left, video on the right. Sometimes it’s a mix of discord/video/spotify on the left and right monitors. Sometimes I have a hockey game on one monitor and YouTube on the other.

Middle is my main.

It’s not often I don’t have something on all monitors.

For work, it's usually IDE on the right (my larger screen) and a live build of the thing I'm working with on the left (a laptop screen). Though it varies a lot throughout the day. Primary screen gets the app that needs most scrutiny, small screen gets auxilliary things like passive communication apps or reference materials.

For home use, where I have two monitors of equal size, it's usually Discord on one screen and a web browser on the other. Comms on the left and active task on the right.

I don't see a use case in my workflow for a third screen, especially not one that is a weird size or is in portrait orientation. But if one was simply bestowed upon me, I'm sure I'd find something to do with it sooner or later. There was a time where I though two monitors was overrated, I'm sure I can adapt my opinion again for 3+.

I used to use my 3rd monitor for company email and chat programs so they would stay out of the way of my actual work.

One additional vertical monitor for e-mail, papers or documentation is great.

I have a central monitor in landscape orientation which is where my IDE lives. Then a monitor on the left in portrait, which has the bottom quarter or so dedicated to work chat, music controls, and the browser developer window, then the rest of it is a web browser for documentation. On the right is my laptop screen, which is used for more documentation and watching TV shows while I work

Video games. On one screen is the game, on the other screen is a web browser with the wiki opened. Also have YouTube for the tough puzzles. Helps a ton.

I have two monitors: a 27 inch 1440p and a 17 inch CRT for retro gaming. No productivity.

Primary "workspace", comms, docs/reading/reference data.

I bought a second display for my last job because the pan got us wfh. I’m on a Mac and ran my Windows VM o the second display. My current job doesn’t allow me to connect to VPN from a personal device, so the second display is dormant. I throw web browser windows for things I want to look at later over there so I don’t forget to come back to them (I have a billion open web windows / tabs on the main display).

I use 3 monitors. One is for the task I'm doing, one is for reference material for the task, and the third is for my sanity. That last one is where youtube/memes/whatever are. I can focus extra hard if I need to, but I prefer not to. When I started out, I used to get home completely burned out, and incapable of doing anything but eating, showering, and vegging out in front of the TV or PC.

work and play at the same time. discord, weather map, cameras, password manager, firefox, chrome, citrix etc. also use a tiling manager so much easier