I've been using two monitors at my desk for many years now, and it is frustrating to return to a single monitor at home. It can be very helpful to have a document open in one monitor for reference while working on another.

I don't think it's always a good solution. I've known people who spend more time looking for the correct browser window and then rearranging everything around it on the screen. I've done it myself but now tend to have an 'active document' monitor and a 'reference' screen.

I've never used more than two monitors for any length of time, apart from testing the Matrox Parhelia, a graphics card with three outputs. Without access to three identical monitors, the gaming side of things didn't really work out, not to mention some odd display problems in Dark Forces: Jedi Outcast. The only other games I've seen that support multiple monitors are Microsoft Flight Simulator and X3 Reunion

The picture on the right is from Coding Horror, who have plenty of links to studies on how helpful multiple monitors can be.

Don't rush out to buy three 20" LCD panels though, apparently productivity drops off after a certain point. This is probably as people start to lose programs.

Am I alone or do other people find this helpful?