- Left (horizontal) - communicators, btop, Spotify.
- Middle (horizontal) - browser with GitLab, terminals and editors, main development in general.
- Right (vertical) - browser for googling and docs, terminals for tests / logs / whatever I want to see at the same time as the editor, Obsidian for notes.
Anything less than that will completely ruin my workflow. I'm even trying to come up with a feasible way to fit a fourth one.
When I receive a notification I don't need to switch away from my editor to check it, I just glance to the left and continue with my work or react if needed. Constantly switching windows in front of me would be so much more distracting for me.
Also, being able to read docs and google stuff on a vertical monitor on the right, while still seeing the code in front of me is incredibly convenient. Again, I can't imagine switching away from my editor to the docs and to the code again.
I need to be able to effortlessly switch attention between code, tests, logs, docs, notifications. If I can't do that by just shifting my sight in the right direction, my brain doesn't function.
It's so interesting how different people are!