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September 13, 2007

This is where the magic happens


Dualing monitors
Originally uploaded by bkmcae
My desk is getting its dual monitors on. I felt my productivity shoot up upon getting the dual monitor setup back. Studies show a second monitor raises productivity 10-50%. A $200-$300 investment for up to 50% improvement in output, even on an employee making just $20K per year, makes a ton of sense.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well said. Most day-to-day office work doesn't require a high-powered workstation. So adding an extra monitor instead of a really fast processor, fancy graphics card, or huge HD makes a lot of sense. Yay dual monitors!

Maddie Grant said...

you guys are scaring me...! : )

Anonymous said...

No wonder you can read so many blogs! We consultants with our laptops are at a disadvantage!

Ben Martin, CAE said...

Is this why you have to get up at 5 to start your daily reading, jnott?

Cindy Butts said...

I constantly multi-task, but can't figure out how two screens increases productivity. Seems easy to click various documents or programs to switch between them, compared with losing usable desk space. Unless there's a thought that like football games if they aren't both being watched simultaneously then something is being missed? How does the second monitor help with productivity?

Ben Martin, CAE said...

Here are three ways I find it increases my productivity:
1. Referencing calendar while filling out time sheet.
2. Referencing G/L statements while completing budget worksheets.
3. Stretching large Excel sheets across two screens in order to view the entire thing.

Unknown said...
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Diyana said...

I totally agree - I have the same setup at home and at work. If I use someone else's computer with one monitor, I feel like I'm missing an arm.

Nathan Larson said...

Yeah, I can think of several advantages of dual monitors in accounting:
*Copying and pasting data from one spreadsheet to another;
*Creating spreadsheets for reversing journal entries and quickly verifying that they are indeed the opposite of each other; and
*Comparing this week's sales report to last week's.

I asked my boss for the $600 needed for a couple 20" widescreen Viewsonics and a video card but didn't get approval. I cited the up to 50% productivity increase and he said, "So does that mean if I don't get 50% more work out of you, I can take them back?" Basically it looks like I'll be shelling the cash out of my own pocket.

Ben Martin, CAE said...

@Nathan: Even if you got just a 1% jump, at your salary over the 3 year life of a monitor, the investment would pay for itself.