Windows 11 Settings That Boost Productivity

Windows 11 ships configured for the average person, and the average person, apparently, wants news headlines, app suggestions and a notification every time an app finishes updating. You probably don't.

The good news is that most of what slows you down is a setting, not a limitation. Spend twenty minutes on the changes below and you get that time back within a week. This guide focuses on settings; for window arrangement, snap layouts and virtual desktops, see our companion piece on desktop layout ideas that save time.

One note before we start. Windows 10 reached end of support in October 2025, so if any machine in your business is still on it, upgrading or replacing it matters more than any tip here. Unsupported systems stop getting security fixes.

1. Notifications: the biggest productivity setting in Windows

Here's the cost of a notification. It takes a second to read, but getting your attention back to what you were doing takes much longer. If you get thirty pop-ups a day and each costs even a minute of refocusing, that's half an hour gone, every day, to messages most of which didn't need you right then.

Go to Settings → System → Notifications and work down the list of apps. For each one, ask: do I need to know about this the moment it happens? Teams messages from your manager, maybe. A tip about a feature in an app you opened once, no. Switch off the banner for everything that can wait; it'll still be in the notification centre when you look.

While you're there, open Additional settings at the bottom and turn off the tips and suggestions Windows offers about itself.

2. Do not disturb and Focus

Under Settings → System → Notifications, Do not disturb silences banners. You can set it to switch on automatically at certain times, when you're presenting or duplicating your screen, or in a full-screen app. Turning it on for screen sharing alone will save you the embarrassment of a personal message popping up in front of a client.

Focus, under Settings → System → Focus, goes further: start a timed session and Windows turns on Do not disturb, hides badges on taskbar apps and shows a timer. Twenty-five minutes of uninterrupted work is a strangely luxurious experience in most offices.

3. Tame the Start menu

Windows 11's Start menu has been redesigned, and the new version has been rolling out to current versions of Windows 11. It puts pinned apps and your full app list in one scrollable view, with category, grid or list layouts. Customise it under Settings → Personalisation → Start.

The setting most people want: you can now switch off the Recommended section, the area that fills with recently opened files and suggested apps. Some find it useful. Others find it cluttered, or don't love a client's file name being on display when they share their screen. Then pin the handful of apps you use daily and unpin the ones that came with the computer.

The fastest way to use Start, though, is not to look at it: press the Windows key, type the first few letters of an app or file, press Enter.

4. Clean up the taskbar

Under Settings → Personalisation → Taskbar, hide what you don't use: the widgets button, the search box (the Windows key does the same job), Task view if you never touch it. Fewer icons means less hunting. If you prefer the Start button in the corner, change Taskbar alignment to Left under Taskbar behaviours.

Also worth knowing: Windows can add an End task option when you right-click a frozen app on the taskbar. It's off by default; search Settings for "End task" to switch it on, and stop opening Task Manager every time an app hangs.

5. Clipboard history

Press Windows + V. The first time, Windows offers to turn on clipboard history. Say yes. From then on, Windows + V shows the last batch of things you copied, so you can copy five items from one document and paste them one by one into another, instead of going back and forth five times. You can also pin snippets you paste often, like your address or a standard reply.

One caution: clipboard history keeps whatever you copy, including passwords if you copy them. In a business, use a password manager that fills passwords directly rather than copying them, and leave clipboard sync across devices switched off unless you have a reason for it.

6. Startup apps: faster mornings

Every app that launches at sign-in adds to the wait before your computer is usable, and keeps using memory all day. Go to Settings → Apps → Startup and switch off anything you don't need the instant you sign in. Each app is labelled with its startup impact, so start with the ones marked High. Leave security software and anything your IT provider manages alone.

7. Power settings

Under Settings → System → Power & battery (or just Power on a desktop), the Power mode setting trades battery life for speed. On a laptop that's plugged in at a desk, choosing best performance can make heavy spreadsheets and video calls noticeably smoother. On battery, the balanced mode or Energy saver stretches the day.

Check the screen and sleep timings too. A laptop that sleeps after two minutes while you're reading a long document is annoying; one that never sleeps is a security problem.

8. Voice typing and live captions

Press Windows + H in any text box to dictate instead of typing. It's surprisingly accurate now, and for first drafts of long emails it's often faster. Windows + Ctrl + L turns on live captions for any audio on your PC, handy in noisy offices or calls in apps without their own captions.

9. File Explorer and storage

• Tabs: File Explorer has tabs, like a browser. Ctrl + T opens a new one, so you can work across several folders in one window.
• Storage Sense: under Settings → System → Storage, it clears temporary files and empties the recycle bin on a schedule, and can free up space by making older OneDrive files online-only.
• Show file extensions: in File Explorer, choose View → Show → File name extensions. It's a productivity tip and a security tip at once, because "invoice.pdf.exe" is much easier to spot when the extension isn't hidden.

10. Security settings that also save time

Security and productivity often pull against each other. These ones don't:

• Windows Hello. Signing in with your face or fingerprint (Settings → Accounts → Sign-in options) is faster than typing a password dozens of times a day, and more secure.
• Dynamic lock. In the same place, pair your phone by Bluetooth and Windows locks the PC shortly after you walk away with it. One less thing to remember.
• Windows + L. Lock the screen manually when you step away. Two keys, no excuses.

Now, the inevitable pause. Windows 11 also offers ever more AI features, and on Copilot+ PCs that includes tools that capture or act on what's on your screen. They can save time. Whether a feature that remembers everything you looked at belongs on a laptop full of client records is, uh... something to decide deliberately, not by clicking "Accept" during setup. In a business, settings like these should be managed centrally.

Let IT do this for everyone

All of the above can be done one PC at a time, but in a business it's better managed centrally. With tools like Microsoft Intune, your IT team can turn off consumer suggestions, set sensible power and lock policies, enable OneDrive folder backup and keep Windows updated across every device, so new starters get a productive, secure setup on day one. That's part of what managed IT covers, and the security baselines sit alongside it.

For more ways to claw time back, read how to organise your devices for productivity and, if you use two screens, our dual monitor setup tips.

Frequently asked questions

What Windows 11 settings should I change for productivity?

Start with notifications (switch off banners for apps that can wait), set Do not disturb to turn on automatically when presenting, turn on clipboard history with Windows + V, disable unneeded startup apps under Settings → Apps → Startup, and customise the Start menu and taskbar to show only what you use.

How do I turn off Recommended in the Windows 11 Start menu?

Go to Settings → Personalisation → Start. On the redesigned Start menu you can switch off the Recommended section entirely, and on any version you can turn off showing recently added apps, recommended files and recently opened items.

How do I make Windows 11 faster?

Disable unnecessary startup apps, choose a higher-performance power mode when plugged in, turn on Storage Sense to clear temporary files, and keep Windows updated. If a PC is still slow after that, the hardware may be due for replacement.

Is Windows 10 still supported?

No. Windows 10 reached end of support in October 2025, so it no longer receives regular security updates. Businesses should upgrade eligible PCs to Windows 11 or replace older ones.

Local IT and cyber security support across NSW

Chewing IT runs managed IT and cyber security for small and mid-sized businesses from our Wyong and Hornsby offices, covering the Central Coast, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Hornsby.

Want every PC in the office set up like this automatically? Talk to us about managed IT and we'll configure Windows 11 for speed and security across your whole team.