Widgets, task bars, e-mail pop-up notifications, instant message alerts… Could there be any more things to distract you from what you’re currently doing on your computer? Recently I discovered a simple but powerful way of staying focused: Fullscreen windows! Try it right now while reading this post… press F11 (on windows anyways) and poof! All those annoying, distracting things along the sides and bottom of your computer screen disappear until you’re ready to use them again. Functionally, it really does nothing. However, out of sight, out of mind… You may think you can filter those things out but chances are you can’t. Full screen windows don’t suppress every possible distraction but it is one step closer to clarity.
Note: Although there are exceptions, F11 is a fairly standard hotkey for fullscreen in most applications. Not sure what the Mac equivalent is… anyone?
