Monitor Placement

Do you use 2-3 monitors at a time? It’s not uncommon for employees to ask where they should place their monitors when they have more than one and my answer is usually right in front of you. Easy right? Not really I’ll explain. 

If we break this down, the purpose of having multiple monitors is to basically make it easy to refer to documentation you’re using through the day. Using multiple monitors is just a way to organize this information and make it easy for you to see. So let’s look at the goal for one to 3 monitors and you can decided what works best for you. 

1 primary monitor out of 2

In general people do have what I call a primary monitor. This is the monitor that is looked at 50% of the time or more. This monitor should always be centered. The other monitor can be placed to the side of your primary monitor and should be glanced at, preferably with only your eyes and not requiring neck rotation to be seen.

2 primary monitors out of 2 

If you are someone who has to use both monitors the entire time try to keep the windows you use most of the time in the middle, shared between both screens. You can do this by moving the windows to the edge of the monitor and placing the less used windows along the edge of the monitors to minimize head rotation. 

3 primary monitors

Every once in a while I encounter a coder who needs 3 monitors. 3 monitors can get a little tricky since there is only so much our central vision field can hold. Begin by ensuring the primary monitor or monitors with organized windows are in the center of the vision field. The 3th monitor which sometimes is partially used can be off to the side. 

Goal

The point of organizing your monitors is to eliminate head rotation and allow your eyes to gaze comfortably through the screens. If you would like to learn more please feel free to reach out.