If you are still using a One-Monitor system, you probably spend an inordinate amount of time minimizing screens to pull up another app, then pulling the first one back up and so on. The methodology and ‘muscle memory’ of juggling multiple apps and windows becomes second nature after a while, but why waste all that time?
Regardless of the number of monitors you use, spending too much time looking for things and switching back and forth, opening apps and maximizing documents and spreadsheets is not the most productive use of your time.
According to a report by RingCentral, two-thirds of workers say they waste up to 60 minutes per day navigating between apps, 68 percent of workers toggle between apps up to 10 times an hour, and 31% of workers say all that ogling causes them to lose their train of thought.
ONE HOUR out of eight spent just switching between apps? That means a worker loses 31.25 DAYS a year (based on 50 weeks at work). So, an entire MONTH every year is wasted – time when employees are not promoting the goals of your business. And you thought that a few minutes of ‘water-cooler’ chat was unproductive?
When you see workers with two monitors, it’s easy to assume they do some specialized work that requires all that screen space, or they just really like technology, but having the additional display real estate that a second screen provides saves a lot of time no matter what type of work you do.
We get used to being boxed in by the screen area we have. This can lead to struggles when trying to fit two windows next to each other or continuously clicking between layers of windows. A side-by-side comparison becomes a difficult task with toggling back and forth.
Most of us have experienced clicking around to find the window we need in a layer of different applications. Using dual screens can help eliminate this unproductive practice that wastes an hour per day.
Advantages:
1) Saves time (an hour per day)
This is the main issue - covered above.
2) Expands laptop screen space
Laptops are great for traveling, but even the largest still have that one screen. When working at home or in the office, you can plug in a second monitor – not so convenient to do in a hotel room.
3) Copy/Paste – have the place you’re copying from next to the place you’re pasting into.
Let’s say you want to create an Excel spreadsheet with data from an online directory. With two screens, you just look at one, copy, then look at the other and paste – no losing your place.
4) Easier video/zoom meetings. You don’t have to stop everything else for the call.
You get an email or Instant Message during a meeting – just open it on the other screen and deal with it as required. For boring meetings, you can work on a different project (but keep an eye/ear on the meeting).
5) Multi-tasking
Tasks are often momentarily interrupted – perhaps by a phone call or messaging that requires you to use a different app or document. No jockeying things around and then finding them and pulling them back up. One common use is keeping your email open while working on other things.
All of the advantages tend to fall under one umbrella: saving time – and lots of it. After all, Time is Money.
Here at IT Support LA, it would be an extremely odd thing to find a desk with ONLY two monitors, but three is the norm in a technology driven arena like IT services – too many things to keep track of.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How much more efficient is 2 monitors?
A: The results of a long-term study on dual-monitor use versus a single monitor conducted by Jon Peddie Research shows that two monitors increases productivity by an average of 42% - incorporating a wide range of job types.
From three studies conducted over 15 years, JPR also found that between 2002 and 2017, there’s been a significant rise in the use of two monitors, with a compound annual growth rate of 10%.
Jon Peddie put it simply, saying, “The more you can see, the more you can do.”
Q: Is it worth having 3 monitors?
A: While we at IT Support LA are strongly in favor of a dual-monitor setup, three is not necessary for most workers. For jobs such as programmer, designer, video editor and such, three screens are. Tax preparers a great enhancement. Not so much for many jobs, like tax accounting. The rule of thumb is: If you need to see a lot of information at once, three monitors is worth consideration.
Q: Which type of monitor is best?
A: It all depends on the desktop space available, but the best recommendation is at least a 24 to 27 inch screen. The larger the screen is the higher the resolution you should have. With a 24 inch, 1080p is fine, but with 27 inches and above, consider 1440p resolution.
Q: Which monitor brand is most reliable?
A: There are plenty of good, reliable monitors on the market. Some of the best are Dell, Alienware, BenQ, Acer, LG, Samsung, HP, Lenovo, and Asus.
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