You’re deep in a research document when a Slack message pulls you into a conversation. You switch to Slack, then to your browser to find a link, then back to Slack, then back to your document — except now your document is buried under six other windows. Sound familiar?
Most Mac users work with a single desktop, piling every window on top of each other. But macOS has had virtual desktops — called Spaces — for over a decade. They let you spread your work across multiple screens, each with its own set of windows, so you can switch contexts without the clutter.
Here’s how to use them properly.
What are Spaces?
Spaces are virtual desktops. Each Space is a full-screen workspace with its own set of windows. Your Mac shows one Space at a time, but you can switch between them instantly with a keyboard shortcut or trackpad gesture.
Think of it like having multiple physical monitors, except they’re stacked behind each other instead of side by side. You can have your email on one Space, your code editor on another, and your browser research on a third — each clean and uncluttered.
Spaces don’t add screens — they subtract distractions. Each desktop shows only what’s relevant to what you’re doing right now.
Setting up multiple desktops
Create and manage Spaces
- Enter Mission Control — swipe up with three or four fingers on your trackpad, or press F3 (or Ctrl + ↑)
- At the top of the screen, you’ll see a row of desktop thumbnails
- Click the + button on the far right to add a new Space
- To remove a Space, hover over its thumbnail and click the X that appears
- To reorder Spaces, drag their thumbnails left or right
You can also assign specific apps to specific Spaces so they always open in the right place. Right-click an app in the Dock, go to Options → Assign To, and pick a desktop. This is especially useful for apps you always want in a particular context — your email client on Desktop 2, your terminal on Desktop 3, and so on.
Keyboard shortcuts
The real power of Spaces comes from switching between them without touching your mouse. These shortcuts are essential:
The Ctrl + number shortcut is the single most important one. It lets you jump directly to any Space without cycling through the ones in between. If you only learn one shortcut from this article, make it this one.
To enable it: go to System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Mission Control, and check the boxes for “Switch to Desktop 1,” “Switch to Desktop 2,” and so on.
Organizing your Spaces
Having multiple desktops is only useful if you organize them consistently. Otherwise, you’ll spend more time looking for windows than you save by separating them.
Here’s a structure that works well for most people:
Desktop 1 — Communication. Email, Slack, Messages. Everything that interrupts you lives here, contained and separate from your focus work.
Desktop 2 — Main work. Your primary application — code editor, design tool, writing app. This stays clean with only the windows you’re actively using.
Desktop 3 — Research. Browser windows, documentation, reference material. Keep research separate from your main work so you don’t get lost in tabs.
Desktop 4 — Media / personal. Music, personal browsing, anything non-work. Nice to have during breaks without mixing it into your work Spaces.
The specific layout matters less than consistency. Once you train your muscle memory to know that Ctrl+1 is always communication and Ctrl+2 is always your main work, switching contexts becomes instant and automatic.
Power tips
A few settings and habits that make Spaces significantly better:
Disable “Automatically rearrange Spaces.” By default, macOS moves your most recently used Space to the front, which destroys your Ctrl+number muscle memory. Turn this off in System Settings → Desktop & Dock — uncheck “Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use.”
Use full-screen apps as Spaces. When you make an app full-screen (green button in the title bar), macOS creates a new Space for it automatically. This is perfect for apps you want fully immersive — a presentation, a video call, or a focused writing session.
Set up Hot Corners for Mission Control. If you use a mouse more than a trackpad, assign one corner of your screen to Mission Control. It’s the fastest way to get an overview of all your Spaces without reaching for the keyboard.
Don’t forget your clipboard when switching. The system clipboard works across all Spaces, but it still only holds one item. If you’re copying information from a research Space to paste into your work Space, you have to switch back and forth for every single item. A clipboard manager eliminates this — copy everything you need in your research Space, switch to your work Space, and paste each item from your history.
Copy on one desktop. Paste on another.
QuietClip keeps your clipboard history accessible across all your Spaces. Copy several items on one desktop, switch to another, and paste them all from history. Free to start, $8.99 once for Pro.