Increased Productivity with Dual Monitors

Recently many businesses have started using a dual-monitor setup for their employees in order to increase productivity. Many studies claim that having a dual monitor setup can increase productivity in the workplace by 20%-50%. By using two monitors the available screen area for running applications is effectively doubled which creates all kinds of benefits. I work at such a business and I would like to share some of the reasons why I prefer having two monitors plugged into my computer instead of one. I will also give an overview of how such a setup is achieved.

Comparing is Easier

Comparing sets of data becomes a lot easier when you have two monitors. There are many situations when an employee will need to compare two spreadsheets, documents, websites, images, or other electronic documents. By placing each document on a separate monitor, this task becomes as easy as comparing two pieces of paper held side by side. Before I had a dual monitor setup on my computer I would resort to printing out both documents so that I could do the comparison side by side. This was easier than constantly using alt-tab to switch back and forth between documents. By utilizing the dual monitor setup for comparing instead of printing the documents I imagine that I have saved a tree or two by not wasting paper.

Programming is Faster

 Programmers will be able to work faster and more efficiently with two monitors. The code for a project can be placed on one screen while the end result can be placed on the other screen. This is especially helpful when doing PHP programming for web pages. The web page can be placed on one monitor while the PHP and HTML code can be on the other monitor. This makes it really easy to make changes and test them quickly to see the results.

More Desktop Means More Done

With two monitors you are able to have two projects on the desktop at once. Many times I find myself waiting for a project to compile, a file to download, a program to install, etc. With two monitors I can move the program I am waiting for to the other monitor and work on something else on my current monitor. That way, I can still easily see when the program finishes or if it needs my attention for anything.

How to Setup Dual Monitors

The first thing you will need is a video card that will support two monitors or two separate video cards so that one monitor can be plugged into each one. I recommend using a card that supports two monitors on it's own because they typically have good drivers and features that make it easier to setup two monitors. There are a lot of video cards out there that support two monitors and they are not necessarily expensive.

Next, you will need two monitors. Using two monitors that are the same brand and model is recommended so that the colors, brightness, and contrast match on both monitors. You would be surprised at how different every monitor looks when you have them side by side. I would also recommend using two flat panel monitors if you can afford them because they will use less electricity and most of the time they have a small edge around the outside of the monitor which makes it easier to place them close together. Flat panel monitors are easier on the eyes too because they don't have as much flicker as CRTs.

Now, once you have both monitors hooked up to the computer there are a few different options to choose from. You can setup your monitors so they both display the same thing all the time but this is not particularly useful. The way that most people set it up is so that your desktop spans both monitors. This way you can easily drag windows from one monitor to the next as if they were connected at the edges. This also allows you to have one program going on one monitor and another on the second monitor.

Conclusion

Using a dual monitor setup is very useful and can help in many ways. Businesses can make their employees more effective with a dual monitor setup. I have to warn you though; once you have used this kind of a setup at work or somewhere else, it feels very limiting when you have to use a single monitor setup for everything. I ended up choosing a dual monitor setup for my home computer because I got so used to it at work that I felt like I couldn't get things done as quickly with one monitor. Try it out sometime when you have the hardware to do it and you will see for yourself.