Keep your UI clean

I am going to turn this into the series of articles, as there are so many programs that are set by default in a quite inefficient way. But for now just general remark: Keep your user interface clean.

It is a great luck that most of today's programs have option to customize its icons and sometimes even menus, as most programs have pretty unusefull interface after the install.

Your first, and probably only principle should be: Keep things simple. Remove every icon you can to remove from the toolbar. Only those icons that you use at least once in hour deserve the place in toolbar, or some commands that can't be accessed the other way.. If you have many icons in front of yourself, it will slow your reaction, with gain that you might easier find some items which you need rarely, so you obviously lose.

When removing icons, think about alternative way of using the same command. For example, cut, copy, and paste are frequently used, but they are usually also available from context menu (on right-click). If you use them from context menu, you will improve your productivity significantly, as it is much quicker. Sometimes it is a matter of habit, but removing those icons from toolbar is the best way to get used to new habits. You may feel a bit strange for several days, but you will have years of increased productivity in return. And don't forget keyboard shortcuts - you can copy with ctrl+c or paste with ctrl+v.

Finally, don't forget to switch to bigger icons if possible. By removing so many icons, you freed up the area so that you can use bigger icons if they are supported in program. That way your reaction will be much quicker. Believe me, I don't wear glasses, but this adds to my productivity.