I trade whatever default workflow that VSCode and other IDEs are imposing for a better editing experience. And even the initial time investment is short these days due to the trove of config and tutorials online.
After learning Vim, I ditched the files explorer and embrace the buffer workflow instead. Opening many windows at the same time to peek at multiple files, then switching to a new tab only if I don’t want to lose the current windows configuration. Then fuzzy searching for navigation, and using the quickfix list for search and errors. No friction from thought to action.
Another plus for me. I have an emacs session opened for weeks now inside a VM on my desktop to work on a side project. Whatever the computer (laptops or said desktopj, it’s a quick ssh, then resuming the dtach sessiom and my workspace is ready. Multiple files opened (almost all of them), a postgresql REPL, Tasks runners, and a lot of packages (magit, project.el, consult,…) working together to streamline working on code.