Multiple Monitors – Extended Monitor

When I first heard of people using multiple monitors it reminded me of a software demonstration for audio recording on a 42 inch (they called them big screen back then) monitor. Home business owners who conduct online meetings or webinars can increase productivity exponentially by using multiple monitors.

The term extended monitor can be confused with widescreen monitors which became very popular not only for watching widescreen movies but also for running applications side by side. The appearance of the application windows in a wider monitor is the cheapest route to realizing this productivity advantage.

Unless you’ve used a dual monitor setup the very notion may seem like ignorance to why Windows was created. That’s exactly the way I used to think.

Keeping a Clean Desk

Most of us are familiar with study sessions in a library where we’ll have several books open, a notebook and possibly a calculator spread across a table. Imagine the time wasted if we had to pull each book from a stack, flip to the correct page and then put that book away and pull out another.

Bouncing from application to application doesn’t take nearly as long as working from text books, but the idea of having reference material already open eliminates a step.

Productivity is generally improved by eliminating steps. Having an extended monitor or dual monitor setup allows us to skip at least one step when working alone.

Web Conferencing

So far 100% of the home business leaders I speak with that do some type of web conferencing swear by the multiple monitor setup. Others have talked about using a laptop or second computer to assist but that process has drawbacks.

Jumping from machine to machine adds a step and time is too valuable a resource during a conference.

I’ve seen meetings stall for one of two reasons:
1. The leader was trying to pull information from another machine
2. The leader needed their single monitor to switch to another application

The Ideal Environment for Multiple Monitors

Unless I’m consulting with someone it’s hard to say what they’ll need based on the type of business they run or the particular work they do either online or with a computer.

It’s been my good fortune to experience the triple monitor workstation. Having become accustomed to the dual monitor setup this was at first daunting, then exciting and now exceptionally beneficial.

Not everyone is going to run out and buy two more monitors nor should they but during a meeting the triple monitor setup allows me to keep the meeting outline, the chat dialog and the shared screen all in full view. Personally I think my multiple monitor experience is maxed out at three, adding more screens might invite distraction.