I have been working mostly at home or in coffee shops without going into the office for a long time. Recently, with the impact of the epidemic, some people around me have begun to work from home. Some friends have asked, are there any settings or methods in Windows 10 that can improve productivity? This article has compiled what I think are very good, 5 features that improve Windows 10 productivity and are used almost every day.
If you also feel that your Windows 10 work efficiency is not that good, you might as well refer to it. Maybe there are tricks you don’t know.
5 features and settings to boost productivity in Windows 10
1. Make good use of shortcut keys to arrange the positions of working windows
Although this is very basic, I was surprised that when I mentioned it to my friends, they didn’t know that it is definitely a skill that every Windows 10 worker must learn! Even if you only use it to surf the Internet and look up information, it is recommended to learn it. Your computer speed will also increase in the future.
Windows 10 has always had built-in shortcut keys for arranging the position of working windows. You only need to press the Widows key + arrow keys to quickly specify a software window to the left, right, upper right, lower left, or even zoom out of the screen.
Shortcut list:
- Windows key + Left: The selected windows will be arranged on the left.
- Windows key + Right: The selected windows will be arranged on the right.
- Windows key + Down: Reduce the selected window.
- Windows Key + Up: Zoom into the selected window.
The following two currently sometimes don’t work properly:
- Windows Key + Left/Top Right: The selected windows will be arranged top left/right.
- Windows key + Left / Bottom Right: The selected windows will be arranged in the bottom left / right.
The picture below is the arrangement I use most often. There is one window on the left and one on the right. You can quickly switch between the two windows for work or reference materials:
People who use large screens can even put a working window in the four corners:
2. Management notifications
In order to focus on the current article when I am working, I try to close other things that may be disturbed, and “notifications” are one of them.
Windows 10’s notifications are a very good feature when not working. You can know immediately if there are new activities in any application, new messages coming in from LINE, or new emails received in your mailbox, etc.
However, when working, new notifications always pop up, which will definitely affect your concentration, and may even cause interruption, and you will unknowingly waste a lot of time.
Therefore, you must turn off the notification function in Windows 10.
To do this, after entering the start menu, click the settings icon on the left -> System -> Notifications and Actions to find the relevant settings. You can specify the software you want to turn off, or directly turn off the notification function above:
However, I personally recommend setting up the focus assist function, which can specify time rules, when to turn off notifications, and when to turn them on, so that you don’t have to turn them on and off manually all the time, which is easier. You can even set a list that allows priority notifications. For example, I still need email notifications when I am working. I can know immediately when a new email comes in:
3. Use virtual desktops
Virtual desktop is basically a must-learn skill for every Windows 10 worker. It allows us to create multiple desktop environments, such as: for drawing, for paperwork, for surfing the Internet, for organizing information, etc., to avoid opening too many software on the same desktop, resulting in a cluttered work environment.
As shown at the top of the picture below. To open the screen for controlling the virtual desktop, click the small icon to the right of the search bar below:
Then you can freely add the virtual desktops you want. Another thing to note is that if your computer performance is not very good, it is best not to create too many, as it may slow down the computer speed.
After you become familiar with it, it is also recommended to learn the following shortcut keys to improve your efficiency in using virtual desktops:
- Windows + Ctrl + D: Add a new virtual desktop.
- Windows + Ctrl + F4: Close the current virtual desktop.
- Windows + Ctrl + left/right arrow keys: Switch the virtual desktop on the left or right side.
- Windows + Tab: Open the virtual desktop interface (that is, click on the small icon on the right side of the search bar).
4. Quickly open previously used files or tasks from the Windows 10 Timeline
Many people may have heard of the Windows 10 Timeline, but I guess few friends actually use it. This function is actually quite easy to use, especially if you have some files or tasks that you will use repeatedly for a period of time. You can quickly open them from this list without having to manually search for them in the folder.
In addition, this feature is also tied to your Microsoft account. If you often need to work on different devices (for example, sometimes on a desktop, sometimes on a laptop), you only need to store the files in the OneDrive cloud drive. Even if you switch from a desktop to a laptop, you can open the Timeline and continue quickly.
If you are not sure whether it has been bound before, you can go to Settings -> Privacy -> Activity History to check. If the account appears in “Show the activities of these accounts” below, it means it is bound.
If you don’t want to be recorded, just turn off “Store my activity on this device” and “Send my activity to Microsoft”:
5. Enable cloud clipboard function
Not everyone needs this feature, but if you’re like me and often work across devices, it’s best to turn it on. It allows us to quickly copy and paste text between different Windows 10 operating systems, somewhat similar to the combination of iOS and Mac.
For example: after I copy a piece of Computer King Ada text on my desktop computer, and use the paste function on my laptop, the Computer King Ada text will appear.
But the premise is that both Windows computers must be logged in to the same Microsoft account.
For detailed introduction, please refer to this article, the function can be found in Settings –> System –> Clipboard. Remember that the files I copied must be turned on to automatically synchronize them:
Other suggestions
In addition to the built-in functions of Windows 10, there are actually many useful tools on the Internet that can help us improve our productivity.
like Stardock’s Groupy software It is highly recommended. It can combine all software in the same window and switch through browser paging. It is not expensive. You can refer to the video introduction below:
And inThis categoryWe also introduce some good Windows tools in the medium and long term, and those who are interested can check them out.
I personally recommend using multiple screens, especially for laptop workers. Working on a small screen is really hard. Not only is it hard on your eyes, but you also spend a lot of time switching windows.
Nowadays, many screens are quite cheap. You can buy them for two to three thousand yuan. They are well worth the investment. They can definitely greatly improve your productivity and are more impressive than the previous functions and settings.
If you are hesitating whether to choose 16:9 or 21:9, for work, I prefer 21:9, but it needs to be 34 inches or more, with a window on each side to be just right. Below 29 inches, I always feel it is a bit small.
The above is provided for your reference.
Source: KOCPC Chinese