How did I increase my focus by switching from 3 screens to 1 screen?
As developers, we really love using more than one screen when we are developing our features. But is this mandatory? I had convinced myself that I had to, but this will end for now.
Screen 1:
I was using this screen only and only to write code. On this screen always my code editor was open. Btw I am using IntelliJ Ultimate version for all programming language also I am using as a database client.
Screen 2:
I was using this screen for Slack, terminal, and Postman.
Mostly I kept it open Slack on this screen but I am working at Insider and we are a really big company and also we have a lot of colleagues we have partners all around the world which’s why we are always active.
Although I have grouped Slack channels nicely and have tried to perfect my notifications over the years, there are usually too many channels and they are active 24/7 and at some point, it really starts to get distracting.
Screen 3:
I was using this screen for the only web browser which I am using Google Chrome.
But come on do I really need 3 screens?
Let me quickly explain to you my responsibilities.
I am mostly developing backend features, that’s why mostly I don’t need to use any web browser. So, in this case, we can eliminate screen 3 so it seems I still need screen 2 for the terminal and Postman right? really? IntelliJ has an integrated terminal so I think If I switch to the integrated terminal we can eliminate one more tool from screen 2. Let’s continue. Do I really have to open my Slack all the time? and should I see everything at that moment? Since I have really good alerts for monitoring our environment, which is they also send me an SMS. I think I don’t need to see Slack all the time, let’s eliminate this too. Now we only have Postman left for screen 2, let’s replace this with the .http file, you can create a .http and open that file with IntelliJ also, you can use it instead of Postman also writing integration test helps a lot (please do that for yourself).
Also in Insider code review is one of the most important things in our development process, we really care about it. We have tons of internal documents and meetings on how we can do the code review in the best way etc.
And I am the code owner of one of the biggest projects in Insider. That’s why mostly I am reviewing 100 pull requests in a week. When I am reviewing a pull request I am always using screen 1 and screen 2. Screen 1 for the IDE, screen 2 for the Github, so I handle that usage with mac os x split native view.
With this arrangement, I really don’t need 3 screens at the end Well I’m not distracted anymore because of Slack messages, Whatsapp, or any other open tabs on Google Chrome :) I am only focusing on one thing always. As far as I have observed until now I am giving more breaks in a day.
This is the easiest thing to try, I say give it a chance.
