Having multiple screens is fun and can be useful for the minority, but if you want to be more productive on your Mac, having a single screen is the way to go.
Transcript
I was listening to a podcast from 37 Signals, and Jason Fried, one of the founders of 37 Signals, was talking about how he only uses a 13-inch MacBook Pro and no external screens.
Now I do the same and have been for years. In fact, I think since 2011, I started using just the MacBook Pro, I never wanted anything bigger. I didn't need anything bigger.
When I go to clients or when I talk to clients, a lot of people ask me how I can work just on a 13-inch MacBook.
Well, it does depend on the type of work you do, so you don't necessarily need a second screen. I used to be in the music business, where I installed multiple screened systems because they needed it for plugins, mixers and so on, so they needed it.
Same with video editors, you need multiple screens for specific things, but if you're working in the office unless you're working on a massive Excel sheet, you don't need a second screen.
I've realised that everything I do is in full screen, so I'm not distracted by anything else. I don't have multiple things going on. Now if I need to move or copy-paste, I use shortcuts, and again Jason Fried did touch on this and it seems that we work in the same way.
So having one screen can actually help you get more done because you're focusing on one thing and not distracted by lots of other things going on.
For instance, I use Safari as my main web browser, but I also use Brave for everything else like, social media, watching videos, and entertainment.
There are more reasons why I do that, but if you think about it I don't want to be distracted by Twitter and so on if I'm doing any focused work.
Same with email, it's full screen. I'm concentrating on the email at that moment. Same with writing a note. It's full screen because I don't want to be distracted by anything else. So pretty much all the apps, the only app that isn't full screen is my Things 3 because I love it when it's a small screen.
So pretty much every single app apart from Things 3 is full screen because I don't want to keep switching focus from one thing to another.
I would suggest giving it a try. I'm so happy with this 13-inch MacBook. I do all my video editing on it; I do my live streams on it. And when gaming, I do my live streams with it.
You don't need multiple screens, and you generally don't need a bigger screen to get things done because one screen will help you be more focused.
Latest posts
Listen to the experts Wheels, tires, and business tools Get out of your comfort zone Becoming a pro Don’t let this be your workflow Don’t overcomplicate your note-taking Friday Fury: Too much technology Getting more done with a single screen You have to pay for it somehow Working with the tools you have Don’t want it, need it Don’t live just for the weekend More...Join the community
No lead magnets. No sales emails. I'm not even trying to convince you to join my newsletter. But you sure will learn new things if you do.