One of the primary complaints (although that may be too strong of a term) about Windows 11 was that it wasn’t very innovative. Users were able to find their way around the OS relatively easily, and there weren’t many groundbreaking changes that would transform everyday productivity. However, a Computerworld article recently challenged that assumption by publishing several ways that you can use the OS to become a more productive individual and employee. Let’s take a look at some of these productivity tips and tricks from the publisher.

Windows 11 Productivity tips

5 Productivity Tips To Start the Discussion

  1. Focus Sessions: The more technology evolves, the more productivity has suffered. There are simply too many sources of distraction, and it is difficult to stay on task.
    The Focus Sessions feature in Windows 11 may provide a solution, initiating the Do Not Disturb mode and turning off all Windows notifications – including apps in the taskbar. Windows Clock allows the user to set a time limit for the session so as not to grow anxious that you will be missing too much.
  2. Voice Type: Unless you are an expert typist, you can’t type as fast as you can speak – at least not without a significant amount of typos. Windows 11’s voice typing feature uses speech-recognition software to improve its performance, and users are surprised at how rapid and accurate the feature can translate a clear voice. While punctuation is not intuitive, the “Automatic punctuation” feature will allow the user to vocalize punctuation, saying “period” to voice-type a period, and so on.
  3. Copy and Paste: Windows Clipboard has been hopelessly one-dimensional for years. You copied text or a photo to Clipboard, then pasted the clip into an application. With each new clip, the old one disappeared. But Microsoft has given Clipboard a significant upgrade, with the ability to store and view multiple clips, even permanently. This is excellent for those people who use boilerplate terminology and text routinely. There’s no limit on the number of allowable clips, but there is an upper limit in terms of memory and size of each individual clip (4 GB max).
  4. PowerToys: Legacy productivity-seekers may remember Windows PowerToys, initially included in Windows 95. PowerToys were small, free utilities allowed for personalizing Windows in many ways. Used correctly, they could be an excellent productivity booster for small tasks that could take up significant time. These days, PowerToys is a single app that is comprised of many useful mini tools. PowerToys doesn’t come pre-installed in Windows 11, but it can be downloaded free of charge. With a couple of dozen tools included today, Microsoft continually adds new tools to the app. PowerToys includes such fun tools as the Image Resizer, Keyboard Shortcut Manager, and Paste as Plain Text (which allows you to leave all the formatting behind when you cut and paste.)
  5. Virtual Desktops: Your personal devices are used for many different purposes – from making videos to doing research. You may use different apps when you are in the office as opposed to working remotely. You may even have a lot of personal apps on your work PC. Virtual desktops facilitate utilizing one PC for various purposes. Users can establish multiple desktops with different apps running on each one based on their reason for being on the device. In other words, you can have a work desktop, a personal desktop, and a desktop for your kids.

In our next blog, we will take a look at some additional productivity tips. If you are looking for ways to streamline your organization and optimize the resources you have at your disposal, call Alliance IT. We provide expert assistance to those needing IT assessment, recommendations, and managed services.