A small MacBook screen works best when it shows the current action and at most one reference. Shrinking four windows until none is readable creates more navigation work than switching a clear pair.
Choose a one- or two-window mode
Use a filled normal window when you need the menu bar and quick access to other desktop windows. Use full screen when one app deserves the entire display. Use a half-and-half desktop tile or Split View when the action genuinely requires two visible sources.
Keep communication, music, and future references hidden, minimized, or on another Space until the next action needs them.
Rotate references instead of stacking them
Give the working window a stable role. Replace the reference window as the step changes: brief, source, preview, then output. Browser tabs can hold related pages inside one window, but close or bookmark them when they stop informing the action.
Make switching readable
Use clear document and browser-window titles because thumbnails become less informative on a small display. Command-Tab handles apps, Command-backtick handles same-app windows, and Mission Control provides a visual fallback.
A project group can reduce a cross-app candidate set without forcing the windows to remain visible. Wallo does not resize or tile them, which allows you to choose the native layout separately.
Avoid copying an ultrawide grid onto a laptop. The acceptance test is not how many panes fit; it is whether the current action and its evidence remain readable without horizontal scrolling or repeated resizing.