I usually have apps take up the full screen when working - up to three displays (but sometimes even that’s not enough.

Windows 11 has basic window management functionality with Snap Layouts, but with the FancyZones power toy, you can customise the available layouts.

I use an iPhone and iPad for all my personal computing stuff, so this is just my work setup. 4k 32” that has most things:

• left 1/4ish is MS Teams
• middle 1/3ish is Arc (had been Chrome)
• top right 1/4ish is iMessage
• bottom right 1/4ish is MS To-Do

MB Pro is open to the right of the 32”, always had Outlook.

My main actual non-web applications are Excel and Word, and those float around wherever is important for the moment, usually multiple, side by side.

I use an application called Moom to arrange the standard stuff into pre-defined regions.

I usually prefer fullscreen, so much so that I switched to a tiling window manager (sway) that does this by default. I run two monitors, so I will generally have two programs maximized and can tab as necessary.

I use gridmove when working on Windows. A little fussy to set up new templates, but allows complete control over window placement. Like others, I use a different set up depending on what I’m working on. My large main monitor is often split with my IDE taking up 2/3 of the screen and my documentation on the other 1/3.

When working on a laptop with a smaller screen, I often use virtual desktops and split my windows among them. I find it faster to switch between apps that way, knowing exactly where they are in relation to my current screen, compared to alt tabbing through a bunch of windows.

Currently I just use a shortcut window manager that allows me to sort windows semi automatically. But definitely looking to go a similar route @Dr.Wesker@lemmy.sdf.org

Using workspaces is great (at least in linux), otherwise lookin into other window managers could be beneficial. I use i3-gaps on my small laptop, and gnome on desktop and I frequently swap and split up everything I do into workspaces.

I have like a dozen programs for work, everything has it’s own little area designated. And some with overlap, 'cause it all just doesn’t fit still. I hate having to find the little icons and keep flipping or tabbing back and forth when I can just adjust my focus area.

I recently upgraded to an ultrawide monitor and have been making ample use of Windows’s virtual desktops and FancyZones. I have a thumb button on my mouse set to bring up the Win+Tab menu and jump between setups for work, gaming, projects, etc.

I never really used virtual desktops previously (usually on a laptop where it didn’t make a huge difference) but the combination with FancyZones has really been a game changer. I’m sure some linux folks are laughing at this being considered a novelty, but it’s a very seamless setup.

Tiling window manager.

I am on Linux and use a tiling window manager (i3wm in my case). Have a look at such managers, they are great at optimizing how you use screen real estate.