How to make the most of 13-inches: Managing Limited Screen Space

I'm talking screen space here people! We are now all stuck working from home and I am stuck looking at my 13-inch MacBook screen. Has it always been this tiny? or am I trying to do too much these days? Definitely both. Let's see what we can do to fix one of these problems.

So, I looked up some ways to optimize my screen space as I try to frantically write code, look at the output, zoom, check slack and check the latest on COVID 19.

Get a Second Monitor

Yes, I wish. This would be obviously ideal and I am thinking back to my old office that had the sweet sweet dual monitor set up. Thinking about posting an Instagram of it with the caption “take me back”.

Get a Bigger Monitor

Ok, again, I wish! Can I set up my TV to work as a monitor? Probably, but lets reserve that for the Great British Baking Show, and only that.

Hide Yo Things

I don't know about you but iTunes is still jumping rope on my screen from time to time. Definitely a sign I need to look into those automatic hide features for my taskbar and menus. Hide anything you don't need to see! You can always find it later when you need it.

Use Keyboard Shortcuts

You can switch between apps, look for a file, fullscreen, exit and so much more just from your keyboard! Learn your shortcuts. You will thank yourself when you can’t find an open file you swear you just had open…

Look into Apps

I’ve seen a few apps recommended for this so far. Spectacle, rectangle, etc Now I'll be honest I haven't actually started using any of these yet but the general consensus online seems to be that they help. Once you've gotten used to the controls. This looks like what I’ll be working on once I stop complaining on this blog post and start moving towards the “actually do something about my problem” phase.

Here is a link to Spectacle if you are on a mac: https://www.spectacleapp.com/