3 free Windows 11 apps for a “keyboard-first” workflow

I spend the better part of most days working on a computer. Writing, editing, managing files, jumping between apps, it all adds up fast. When your day lives inside Windows 11, even small bits of friction start to feel expensive. Every extra click, every manual resize, every time you retype the same thing slows you down more than you realize.

Anytime I can streamline my workflow and work faster, that’s a win for me. I’m not interested in massive overhauls or flashy customization for the sake of it. I want tools that just get out of the way and make my main work machine feel more responsive and intentional. These three free apps did exactly that. After installing them, my day-to-day workflow felt smoother almost immediately, and once I got used to them, there was no going back.

Why I moved on from DisplayFusion to GlazeWM

I’m a multi-monitor power user, and window management has always been a big part of how I work. Before GlazeWM, I relied on DisplayFusion, which is still an excellent tool if you want mouse-driven control over multiple displays. What eventually pushed me to look elsewhere wasn’t a lack of features, but a desire to make my workflow more keyboard-centric and more predictable.

That’s where GlazeWM really shines. Once it’s running, windows don’t open randomly or pile up in awkward places. They open exactly where I expect them to, on the monitor and in the layout I’ve already trained myself to use. I can jump between tasks instantly, move windows across monitors with a few keystrokes, and stop thinking about window placement altogether.

There’s a learning curve for sure, especially if you’re used to dragging and resizing everything by hand, but once it clicks, it starts saving real time. At this point, GlazeWM feels less like a customization layer and more like the foundation of how I work across multiple screens on Windows 11.

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How I stopped wasting time on repetitive typing with Beeftext

Beeftext is one of those tools that quietly saves time all day long. I spend a lot of time typing the same sentences, commands, and phrases over and over, and this is exactly the kind of friction that adds up without you noticing. Once I took a few minutes to set up my shortcuts, Beeftext just faded into the background and did its thing. Because it works system-wide, I don’t have to think about which app I’m in. If I’m typing, it works.

A simple example is email and documentation. Instead of retyping a standard response, an email signature, or a frequently used command, I type a short trigger and Beeftext instantly expands it into the full text. Updating email signatures used to be a pain for me. Between different apps, webmail, and random forms, it always felt like I was either copying and pasting or fixing small inconsistencies. Now I just handle it with Beeftext and don’t think about it unless there is a change, and then it’s all in one spot.

In the example above, you can see I’ve set up a simple trigger for my email signature. Anytime I type :sig, my full signature is instantly filled in, no matter what app I’m using. It’s faster, it’s consistent, and it completely removes one of those tiny but annoying workflow headaches that used to slow me down throughout the day.

These things might save a few seconds each time, but across a full workday it adds up fast. It also keeps everything consistent, which means fewer typos and less mental context switching. Once you get used to it, Beeftext feels less like a utility and more like a basic part of how typing on Windows should work.

Why Raycast fits my keyboard-centric workflow

I’ve never been a fan of the built-in Windows search. It feels slow, inconsistent, and way too eager to show me web results when all I want is to open a file or run something quick. For a long time, I paired Everything with a launcher, and that solved most of my search problems. Then I tried Raycast on Windows and something clicked. Raycast isn’t just about finding things; it’s about doing things once you find them. That command-palette mindset fits exactly how I work because I live on the keyboard all day.

With Raycast, I hit my shortcut, start typing, and I can launch apps, open files, run quick actions, or jump into snippets and clipboard history without ever touching the mouse. The clipboard history alone saves time because I don’t have to worry about losing something important when I copy something new. And because Raycast is extensible, I can fold more of my daily tasks into the same quick launcher instead of context switching between tools. Even though the Windows version is still in beta and has a few rough edges, it already feels like a workflow upgrade worth keeping around.

None of these tools is a gamechanger on their own, but together they remove a lot of the small friction that slows me down every day. GlazeWM keeps my windows predictable across multiple monitors, Beeftext saves me from retyping the same things over and over, and a fast launcher like Raycast keeps me moving without breaking focus. They all fade into the background once they’re set up, which is exactly what I want. When your computer feels like it’s working with you instead of against you, everything else gets easier.