Windows 11 is ideal for multifunctional use – Office, Games, WSL, HW Options Kazoo – but the built-in defaults slow me down and get sooo annoying. These tweaks make it fast, clean, and predictable:
-
Windhawk mods for the stuff Microsoft won’t expose:
Taskbar Clock Customization (rich clock/date formats), Better File Sizes in Explorer (human-readable sizes), and Taskbar Icon Spacing/Size (tight or roomy as you like). Windhawk -
Everything + Everything Toolbar for instant file search from the taskbar/start area. Windows Search sleeps; Everything sprints. Voidtools
-
Start11 to restore a sane Start Menu—and wire it to Everything so Start menu searches are local, fast, and ad-free. Stardock
-
AutoHotkey to supercharge virtual desktops:
ALT+1..9jumps to a desktop;SHIFT+ALT+1..9moves the focused window there. It’s a perfect “almost-tiling” workflow without the rigidity of a tiling WM. My keymaps live here: https://github.com/ske5074/windows-desktop-switcher . AutoHotkey (Be sure to use the 1.x version of AutoHotKey) -
Twinkle Tray for one-click monitor brightness (and quick volume), right from the tray—especially handy with multi-monitor setups. Twinkle Tray
Net result: a quiet, fast Windows 11 desktop that works the way I do—no Edge promos, no Start menu fluff, and muscle-memory moves between clean, purpose-built desktops.
References / Links
-
Windhawk – Taskbar Clock Customization: https://windhawk.net/mods/taskbar-clock-customization
-
Windhawk – Better File Sizes in Explorer: https://windhawk.net/mods (search “Better File Sizes in Explorer”)
-
Windhawk – Taskbar height and icon size: https://windhawk.net/mods/taskbar-icon-size
-
Everything (Voidtools): https://www.voidtools.com/
-
Everything Toolbar (GitHub): https://github.com/srwi/EverythingToolbar
-
Start11 (Stardock): https://www.stardock.com/products/start11/
-
AutoHotkey: https://www.autohotkey.com/
-
My desktop switcher hotkeys: https://github.com/ske5074/windows-desktop-switcher
-
Twinkle Tray: https://twinkletray.com/