Using Emacs as an IDE

Question

Currently my workflow with Emacs when I am coding in C or C++ involves three windows. The largest on the right contains the file I am working with. The left is split into

Answer 1

I agree that you should learn about M-x compile (bind that and M-x next-error to a short key sequence).

Learn about the bindings for version control (e.g. vc-diff, vc-next-action, etc.)

Look into registers. You not only can remember locations in buffers but whole window configurations (C-x r w -- window-configuration-to-register).