Switching to Windows 11? Youre not alone. With the clock ticking down to Windows 10s end-of-support date in October, professionals around the globe are making plans and lots of them are making the upgrade to Windows 11.Some parts of Windows 11 can seem downright alien at first especially that new taskbar, which was originally designed for the now-cancelled Windows 10X and works a little differently from the classic Microsoft taskbar. But theres a lot you can do to make Windows 11 work more like the Windows 10 youre used to without a drag on your productivity.Whether youre upgrading your home PC or using Windows 11 at work, these tips can help you boost familiarity and productivity on Microsofts latest operating system. The good news is that, a few years after its release in 2021, Windows 11 is pretty solid in 2025. Some of the most annoying missing features have been restored for example, you can now drag and drop files to the taskbar!Want more Windows PC advice? Sign up for my free Windows Intelligence newsletter. Ill send you free Windows Field Guide downloads as a special welcome bonus!Windows 11 tip #1: Move your taskbar iconsWindows 11s taskbar icons are centered by default, and that can be the most immediately jarring thing you notice. It breaks muscle memory if youre used to having the Start button in the bottom-left corner, and thats not good for productivity.Luckily, this one is easy to fix with no extra software. Just right-click an empty spot on the taskbar and select Taskbar settings. Expand the Taskbar behaviors section, click the Taskbar alignment section, and select Left. All the icons will move to the left.Windows 11s taskbar can put all the taskbar icons on the left just like on Windows 10.Chris Hoffman, IDGIf you want the Start button at the bottom-left corner and the taskbar icons in the center, though, youll need a little something extraWindows 11 tip #2: Restore the old Start menu styleWant a more classic Start menu? I recommend Stardocks Start11 as the most capable and polished Start menu replacement. Stardock has a great reputation and has been making Windows-tweaking tools for a long time.With Start11, you can choose a variety of Start menu options ranging from a Windows 10-style Start menu to a classic Windows 7-style Start menu. (I prefer the Windows 7 style, myself.) Its very customizable and powerful, but you dont have to tweak it if you dont want. You can just install it, choose your preferred Start menu style, and then forget about it.The application is packed with extra features for the taskbar, too. Want to put the Start button at the bottom-left corner of your taskbar and leave the application icons in the middle, as I mentioned a moment ago? Start11 can do that. Want to move your taskbar to another edge of your screen instead of leaving it on the bottom? Start11 can now do that, too. Its a feature that was part of Windows 10 and removed from Windows 11; Start11 can restore it.Start11 is a paid app but at $10 a year for one PC or $15 per year for up to five PCs, its a reasonable price for a polished, top-of-the-line experience. You can try it free for 30 days, so you can decide whether its actually worth it to you.For Start menu replacements, Start11 offers the most options and the most polish.Chris Hoffman, IDGIf you dont want to pay, but you do want a more classic Start menu experience, install the open-source Open-Shell. Its not as polished or configurable and it doesnt restore all those taskbar features but its free. (Learn more about restoring classic Start menu and taskbar features.)Windows 11 tip #3: Go back to a classic context menuWindows 11 includes a redesigned File Explorer with a shiny new context menu that appears when you right-click files and folders. If you find yourself missing some context menu options, you can return to the traditional, Windows 10-style menu with all the classic options in a few ways:Right-click a file or folder in File Explorer and select Show more options in the context menu.Hold down the Shift key as you right-click an item in File Explorer.Use a registry hack to force File Explorer to always show the old context menu. (If youre not comfortable hacking the registry, though, skip it you can always just hold the Shift key while right-clicking to find the old menu.)I recommend avoiding the registry hack for most people, as the new menu works well most of the time. But if it really bothers you, thats there as a more advanced power-user option.Windows 11 tip #4: Return Notepad to its simpler stateWindows 11 has a shiny new Notepad with tabs, text formatting, and even generative AI (genAI) features complete with Microsoft account integration to track your AI credits.Out of the box, Notepad remembers what you type and reopens with your last session. If you use Notepad as a scratchpad, this can get annoying. To make it work more traditionally, click the gear icon at the top-right corner of the Notepad window, expand When Notepad starts under Opening Notepad and select Start new session and discard unsaved changes.Notepad is a completely different application on Windows 11.Chris Hoffman, IDGIf youre looking for a more traditional text editor that doesnt have built-in AI features or Microsoft logins, try the third-party Notepad++. Its more complex, but its packed with features for people who need to work with plain-text files including syntax highlighting for a variety of programming languages.Windows 11 tip #5: Stop Snap LayoutsWindows 11 has a Snap Layouts feature that helps you more easily use the Snap feature. Some people love it, others feel it gets in the way. Youll see it when you hover your mouse cursor over a windows maximize button, when you press Windows+Z, and when you snap a window normally (by clicking and dragging it or by pressing the Windows key and an arrow key).Want to turn it off? Open the Settings app, select System, and select Multitasking. Expand the Snap windows section and choose the options you want to disable.For example, you might want to turn off Show snap layouts when I hover over a windows maximize button if you find yourself accidentally triggering the pop-up while hovering the mouse cursor over the maximize button.Windows 11 tip #6: Reset File Explorers starting pointOn Windows 11, File Explorer normally opens to the Home view which features Quick access, recent files, and other such items.For a more traditional file-browsing experience, click the button on File Explorers toolbar and select Options. Click the Open File Explorer to box at the top of the Folder Options window that appears and select This PC. Youll go straight to the This PC view showing drives and devices.Windows 11 tip #7: Turn off frequently used files and foldersTo be honest, File Explorers Home view isnt that bad Quick access can be useful, for instance. If your problem is just that you dont want to see recently used files and folders when you open File Explorer, you can turn them off.To do so, click the button on File Explorers toolbar and select Options. Under the Privacy section, uncheck the Show recently used files, Show frequently used files, and perhaps also the Show files from Office.com checkboxes if youd prefer a cleaner, local-files-only experience.The Folder Options window has quite a few options for tweaking File Explorer.Chris Hoffman, IDGYou can also click the Clear button to eliminate the history of files and folders youve used.Windows 11 tip #8: Uncombine taskbar buttonsWindows 11 and Windows 10 both use combined buttons out of the box application icons rather than the traditional taskbar buttons from the Windows XP era.At release, Windows 11 didnt even offer the option to avoid this. It was one of the many ways the taskbar felt like a big step back early on.You can now get a classic taskbar button experience, though: Just right-click an empty spot on the taskbar, select Taskbar settings, expand Taskbar behaviors, click the Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels box, and select Never.Windows shifted to combined buttons with Windows 7, but many people still prefer the classic style.Chris Hoffman, IDGMore Windows 11 tweaking tipsWindows 11 can feel unfamiliar, but a few tweaks can make it much more like home or work! For more ways to improve your Windows 11 experience, check out these guides to turning off obnoxious ads and fixing common Windows annoyances.Want even more Windows productivity and tweaking tips? Sign up for my free Windows Intelligence newsletter. Ill send you three new things to try each Friday. Plus, youll get free copies of Paul Thurrotts Windows Field Guides as a special welcome gift.