Multiple Monitors Will Increase Your Productivity

It's not just for geeks, anymore. Whoever you are, if you spend much of your day on a computer, adding a monitor to your setup will immediately make you a more efficient, faster worker. A second monitor allows you to have more information in front of you, and has been definitively shown to increase productivity by fifteen percent, on average. As basic computers become more and more user friendly, adding and managing additional monitors is easy to do.

Scenario #1 - Laptop. If you work with a laptop, it's very likely that you already have the ability to set up a second monitor. The vast majority of laptops on the market today include at least one monitor out port. While the appearance of laptop monitors has increased in recent years, it's still a common practice to plug into a full-sized monitor and keyboard from time to time. Many people don't realize, though, that it's possible to use BOTH the onboard monitor and the external monitor at the same time. Controls vary from company to company, but video-out options are typically toggled using the "Fn" button and a function key, often F6 through F8.

Scenario #2 - Desktop. Whether you're running a Windows or an Apple system, your operating system probably supports multiple monitors right out of the box. You'll just need an additional monitor port on your machine. As there are several monitor port types in popular use today, you may already have a second port. Check your computer's documentation for more information. If you don't have a second port, you can install a second video card for as little as $30. If you have experience installing hardware, the process is simple, and hardly needs to be described. If you're uncomfortable cracking the case on your machine, a savvy friend, your local computer tech, or the folks over at Geek Squad can sort you out quickly, often while you wait, and for a reasonable price. Make sure they actually plug in and test two monitors there at the shop, to save yourself a trip back if you run into trouble.

Managing Dual Monitors - How you use your dual-monitor setup depends a lot on the sort of computing that you do. Gamers can play on one screen, while referring to walk-throughs, strategy guides, or related forums on the other one. For research and data entry, or any work involving a lot of copy and paste procedures, dual monitors will save you an amazing amount of switching between documents - you can look at both at the same time. Multiple monitors are pretty handy even for day-to-day uses. I keep my email program open on my secondary screen at all times, while working on my main monitor. When emails come in, I am able to view them on the fly, and decide whether they need attention or not, all without skipping a beat on my main task.

Once you spend a week or so with two monitors, you'll wonder how you ever got by with one. Monitor prices have come down quite a lot in the past few years, and free CRT monitors pop up all the time on Craig's List or in the local papers. The quality of your secondary monitor isn't nearly as important as that of your primary monitor, so these freebies are really a heck of a value. Try using two monitors for a day, and I guarantee that you'll love it.