8 tips to optimize Windows 11 for productivity and creativity

Windows 11 is a very capable operating system that lets you do just about anything you want, but out of the box, it’s not the most optimized experience to maximize your productivity. Thankfully, Windows is also a very flexible platform that can be greatly enhanced by third-party apps and even built-in customizations.

If you’re looking to make the most out of your Windows 11 PC to work as fast and efficiently as possible, here are a few things you ought to try that will greatly improve your workflow.

8

Disable some startup tasks

It doesn’t hurt to save resources

It may not seem like much, but having a bunch of apps that start with your system can slow things down quite a bit. A lot of the time, the tasks that start automatically with your system aren’t things you need running at all times, and you might not even need them at all. For example, apps like OneDrive and Microsoft Teams all start with your PC, but if you don’t use those services, they’re totally useless.

I always recommend checking out the Startup section in Task Manager or in the Settings app to make sure you don’t have more things running than you need. There’s usually plenty of room to cut back, and you’ll have more available resources for the things you do need in your workflow.

Related

How to turn off startup tasks in Windows 11

Is your computer taking too long to boot and feeling slow? You can turn off startup tasks in Windows 11 to help your PC run a bit faster.

7

Use virtual desktops

Organize your workspace

Virtual desktops
, or simply desktops, are a big feature in Windows 11 that allows you to organize your open apps into different spaces, so you can focus your attention on specific things at any given time. For example, you can have one virtual desktop where you’re researching and taking notes about a particular topic, and a separate desktop for video or image editing projects. You may also want a virtual desktop for leisure, so you don’t have distractions cluttering your screen while you work.

Organizing your apps into virtual desktops is a great way to ensure you can stay focused on the task at hand and still have everything you need to multitask available at a moment’s notice. This feature has been in windows for a few years, but I still remember when it was added and it was a huge deal for a lot of people. You can access your virtual desktops by pressing Windows + Tab on your keyboard.

Related

4 ways that Windows 11 virtual desktops can improve your workflow

If you have to juggle multiple programs on your PC everyday, use virtual desktops to work smarter and not harder

6

Keep your files organized

it’s a waste of time to dig for them

When you’re working on complex projects that require using a lot of files, such as video editing, it’s extremely important to keep your files organized if you want to keep your project moving smoothly. Using generic names, throwing all your files in a random folder (or just keeping them in the Downloads folder), or having files scattered across different folders entirely are all things that will waste a ton of your time as you work because you constantly have to be browsing to find what you want at any given time. And if you need to move the project to a different place, it becomes that much harder to do so while keeping all your source media files.

Before you start on a project, create a folder structure for the files you’re going to need, and establish a pattern for file names that you might be using. Organize them by dates or based on specific areas of the project you’re going to be working on. Your needs will vary depending on what the project is, so the best thing you can do is just consider all the important variables you’ll need to remember when using these files later.

Related

The ultimate guide to File Explorer on Windows 11

File Explorer is one of the most essential tools in Windows 11, but you may not know everything about it. Let’s take a closer look.

5

Automate Do not disturb and Night light

Keep your focus and rest your eyes

Do not disturb (DND) is an important feature on any device that helps you get some time to yourself without distractions. On computers, it’s especially important if you want to stay focused on the task at hand, and while Windows 11 comes with some automatic rules enabled to prevent annoying notifications, there’s something you’ll want to set up yourself, which is a time-based scheduled for DND.

In the Settings app, under System > Notifications, you can set a time during which DND automatically turns on so you don’t get notifications from messaging apps or other apps that might cause distractions. You can also add exceptions for apps that you do need for work. Say, you might not want Discord notifications during work hours, but Slack notifications might be important, so these exceptions come in handy.

Another thing that might help you be productive and stay healthy, especially if you work long hours, is automating

Night light
. This features reduces the amount of blue light emitted by your screen, reducing eye fatigue and potentially improving long-term eye health.

Related

7 ways to manage your notifications on Windows 11

Stop being interrupted by notifications

4

Use focus sessions

Stay on topic

If Do not disturb isn’t enough to help you focus, Windows 11 has another trick up its sleeve: focus sessions. This is a feature

in the Clock app
that’s designed to help you focus on work by combining Do not disturb with some more aggressive measures.

Starting a focus session will disable notifications for the duration of your session, so you can remain focused. But it goes further than that, because it also disables taskbar highlights and notification badges. Typically, even if an app doesn’t send a regular notification, it will still flash on the taskbar for notifications, which can be a distraction. With focus sessions, that’s also disabled, enhancing your focus that much more.

Focus sessions have other benefits, though. They come with preselected Spotify playlists to help you stay focused, so you don’t let your mind wander as much (trust me, I can relate to that). You can also use the integration with Microsoft To Do to stay on top of the tasks you need to do during that session, and there’s also a tracker that tells you how long you’ve been in focus that day, which is a nice pat on the back to reward your efforts. Every little bit of motivation helps.

3

Save time with AutoHotKey automations

Launch apps and enter repetitive text quickly

The power of automation can save you time in a wide range of tasks, but a great place to start boosting your productivity is by cutting down on the time used to perform repetitive tasks. AutoHotKey is a fantastic app to help with this.

AutoHotKey can create all kinds of automation that leverage keyboard shortcuts or input. One big example is setting keyboard shortcuts to launch any of your apps. You can create a script that runs a specific executable file whenever you press a specific combination of keys, so the apps you need the most are always available at a moment’s notice and you don’t need to waste time with the Start menu.

Another great use case is text expansion. In this case, AutoHotKey can turn specific bits of text you type into longer blocks of text. For example, you can create a script that turns :myemail: into your full email address automatically, so you don’t have to type it every time. You can apply this to longer form text, too, which may be a big time saver. If a lot of your work involves doing the same things over and over, this is definitely an important tip.

2

Use PowerToys

It’s useful for so many things

No conversation about boosting your productivity can be complete without talking about

PowerToys
. I mean, the name itself implies this is meant for power users, and for good reason. This isn’t a single tool, but rather a suite of tools that has tons of useful features to boost your productivity in different ways.

My personal favorite is FancyZones, which lets you completely customize your desktop layout and easily snap apps into the appropriate areas. Sure, Windows 11 has

Snap Layouts
, and this already helps a lot, but FancyZones is a whole other level. You can change the size of specific areas (and have tons of them at that), and you can easily snap apps into the appropriate area by just holding a key on your keyboard and moving the app into that area. No need to deal with dragging apps to the edge of the screen.

Related

8 reasons you should be using PowerToys on your Windows PC

Take your productivity to the next level

But there’s a ton more here. Image Resizer is great if you’re often uploading images but need to deal with restrictive file size limits. Power Rename offers some great features for renaming files in bulk with the formatting you want. Mouse utilities is also nice because it can make it easier to find your cursor on a big screen, which is a problem I deal with frequently. There’s also PowerToys Run, which is a great way to launch your apps and other kinds of tasks. However, if we’re talking about launchers, I have to bring up my number one tip.

1

Install Flow Launcher

It’s so good

If you follow my work, this spot on the list is no surprise at this point. I absolutely love

Flow Launcher
, and I will keep recommending it to anyone who wants the best way to speed up their workflow. Flow Launcher is a search bar and launcher that you can summon at any time over your Windows desktop to launch apps, but also do a lot of other things thanks to the power of plugins.

Launching apps with Flow Launcher is much faster and more reliable than using the Windows 11 Start menu, as Flow Launcher responds instantly and provides more consistent results, whereas Windows sometimes gives you web searches instead of local files, even if you type things in correctly.

Related

10 best Flow Launcher plug-ins to get things done faster

Speed up your workflow using your keyboard

But that’s just the beginning of what you can do with Flow Launcher. Plugins let you run terminal commands directly in the search bar, search your browser’s bookmarks, terminate running apps, uninstall apps altogether, perform unit conversions, and so much more. I’ve covered a lot of

Flow Launcher plug-ins
here at XDA, and I highly recommend looking around for what’s on offer. There are lots of ways to improve your productivity this way.

Work faster, save time

These are just a few tips anyone can follow to improve their productivity on Windows 11. Depending on your workload, there may be more specific tools that help with what you need, but these are a great starting point for almost anyone, and I can vouch for all of these methods.

Of course, Flow Launcher is a personal favorite of mine. I install it on every Windows PC I set up, and I have even found an alternative for Mac, called Raycast, which also works extremely well.