Could I make a suggestion, from a "keep all the tabs open forever" person? Try to come up with a personal standard of which tab is where -- or at least where you put certain types of tab -- so you aren't just searching through everything, or toggling back between the last two or three items, but picking the one you want in one exact motion. For example: personal window in the top right with the first tab chat and the second tab e-mail; bug reports go on the left with the one you're currently doing on the far left; searches for programming help usually are centre-to-right with the left tab for google, and all the other tabs for the results... It's not an exact science (you don't need to write a program in your head that determines where to put each window) but I find I can trust my instincts on where I put something most of the time.

(That's how I work and I still hit the wrong window a lot, so take this advice with a heaping bowl of salt)