For those of you who work on split computer screens at work, what I’m about to write about may seem mundane and worth a monumental yawn. Go for it. I’m okay with that.
I’ve never been a fan of using multiple computer screens to get work done. Why make it more complicated? That’s my motto on the job, and pretty much a life motto. If you can streamline something and make it easier, go for it.
Wouldn’t additional screens of data make life more confusing? That’s what I thought. If you pull up information on 2-3 HD displays, you’re going to become distracted. Your eyes go one direction, your brain goes another, and your fingers tapping away don’t know what to do.
Since I’ve never used more than one screen while working on my desktop or laptop, all I could do was examine multiple images from a distance while watching coworkers and muse, “They’ve got to be baffled.” Perhaps that is not the case.
As I’ve taken on some new professional editorial duties, I’ve been confronted with the opportunity to utilize split screens to speed and (egads) simplify my job. I found it hard to believe that simplification could result, but I deferred to experts, accepted the new high tech display in my office and let it sit there for a few weeks, my screen saver staring back at me.
One day that changed. I don’t remember the reason. There were more than two documents I needed to edit and input information to at the same time. Previously, I’d write things down by hand from one document while leaving the other document on the screen, then type in the changes. Another method was to cut and paste and keep switching from one screen to another.
The dual screen changed that. I pulled the document up on one, the slid data across to the other one. Wham. Done. Save time. Simple. Makes sense. Easy.
Hmmmm, why had I deferred for so long? It’s odd how we choose or not choose to pick up new things in our lives. Many humans are averse to change. They don’t want to take on something new. I think that is driven by the feeling it will complicate your life and be hard to learn. There’s no doubt that often is the case.
Just as often though, we can find a new way is easily adaptable and leads to improved productivity and a faster and smarter way to do business. That was the case here.
I’m a Luddite for the most part. For those of you who’ve followed me for the past 20 years writing this column, you know that about me. But at the same time, when it’s practical and you show me the better results, I adopt and adapt. I want to learn new things. And if I can simplify my life (work or personal) a bit over the long run, I’m all for it.
The hard part is getting over the emotional hurdle of having done something a certain way and being comfortable with it. We don’t like to leave our comfort zones.
Here’s to taking small leaps into the unknown. Embrace a new technology and see how it works for you. You can always discard it.
I’ve never been a fan of using multiple computer screens to get work done. Why make it more complicated? That’s my motto on the job, and pretty much a life motto. If you can streamline something and make it easier, go for it.
Wouldn’t additional screens of data make life more confusing? That’s what I thought. If you pull up information on 2-3 HD displays, you’re going to become distracted. Your eyes go one direction, your brain goes another, and your fingers tapping away don’t know what to do.
Since I’ve never used more than one screen while working on my desktop or laptop, all I could do was examine multiple images from a distance while watching coworkers and muse, “They’ve got to be baffled.” Perhaps that is not the case.
As I’ve taken on some new professional editorial duties, I’ve been confronted with the opportunity to utilize split screens to speed and (egads) simplify my job. I found it hard to believe that simplification could result, but I deferred to experts, accepted the new high tech display in my office and let it sit there for a few weeks, my screen saver staring back at me.
One day that changed. I don’t remember the reason. There were more than two documents I needed to edit and input information to at the same time. Previously, I’d write things down by hand from one document while leaving the other document on the screen, then type in the changes. Another method was to cut and paste and keep switching from one screen to another.
The dual screen changed that. I pulled the document up on one, the slid data across to the other one. Wham. Done. Save time. Simple. Makes sense. Easy.
Hmmmm, why had I deferred for so long? It’s odd how we choose or not choose to pick up new things in our lives. Many humans are averse to change. They don’t want to take on something new. I think that is driven by the feeling it will complicate your life and be hard to learn. There’s no doubt that often is the case.
Just as often though, we can find a new way is easily adaptable and leads to improved productivity and a faster and smarter way to do business. That was the case here.
I’m a Luddite for the most part. For those of you who’ve followed me for the past 20 years writing this column, you know that about me. But at the same time, when it’s practical and you show me the better results, I adopt and adapt. I want to learn new things. And if I can simplify my life (work or personal) a bit over the long run, I’m all for it.
The hard part is getting over the emotional hurdle of having done something a certain way and being comfortable with it. We don’t like to leave our comfort zones.
Here’s to taking small leaps into the unknown. Embrace a new technology and see how it works for you. You can always discard it.