Productivity on Windows

After over a decade as a professional software developer, until very recently I was using Windows as my primary operating system. Despite trying many Linux distros, and even an Apple 🫢 Macbook, I consistently returned to Windows as my daily driver.

This isn't another debate on what's best, but a list of the things that I use to make Windows excellent for productivity

I’ll keep the why short, there’s enough posts out there debating such. For me, it came down to first class support for most software, primarily

• Microsoft Office
• Video Games

The List

Productivity 📑

Windows Clipboard History

Baked in to Windows. Use Win + V instead of Ctrl + V to paste and you’ll be able to paste from a list of what has been on your clipboard recently.

Obsidian

I’m using this right now for this digital garden. This my second brain, I take it everywhere with me.

PowerToys

Specifically, I get the most use out of the FancyZones Utility for quick and easy window snapping. Combine this with the PowerToys tool for window organisation for ultimate organisation.

There are a heap of useful tools in the PowerToys kit, I highly recommend checking them all out. More I use include Mouse without Borders and Power Rename

Virtual Desktops

This one is baked in to Windows. I set up one virtual desktop per active workstream. Typically, my first Virtutal Desktop (VD) houses email & chat apps, Spotify, and general purpose top level stuff. Then, I’ll have one VD for every project workstream I’m involved in. Use in conjunction with PowerToys for ultimate productivity.

Ctrl + Win + <- Quick Switch VD Left Ctrl + Win + -> Quick Switch VD Right Win + Tab Like Alt-Tab but for VD’s.

SysAdmin 💽

Chocolatey

https://chocolatey.org/install

A package manager for Windows. Like brew for Mac, or apt-get for Ubuntu. A developer/sysadmin dream for quickly installing software from reputable download sources.

Docker Desktop and Docker Compose

Containers changed the way developers build software, plain and simple. I have seldom used Virtual Machines since the popularization of Docker.

WSL2 + Ubuntu for Windows

Linux is awesome, despite being a Windows user there are a lot of reasons to love it. This is currently the best way to bring Linux benefits to Windows. There are some known issues, currently this one is my biggest gripe

Dev Tools 🧑‍💻

Insomnia

My current tool of choice for HTTP API testing

Jetbrains All Products Pack

I love programming, but I value my time. I value this product pack because I get an incredible developer experience guaranteed across all of the development workflows I use.

If you’re a software polyglot, give this a try. From this pack, I actively use:

• IntelliJ Ultimate
• Webstorm
• Rider
• DataSpell
• RustRover

I have each configured with mostly the same settings, but slight colouring nuance so I instantly feel which environment I’m working with based purely on the colour scheme of the IDE. I use Settings Sync, built in, to backup my IDE settings to Jetbrains cloud so that the inevitable next time I format Windows I have all my settings right back.