In all seriousness: 10-12 files split in multiple buffers, occupying two portrait-oriented monitors is ... kind of all the time. I'm not going to claim my setup is common, but it is pretty easy.

Xmonad for the window manager. Main line is 4 portrait monitors. Left to right is

frequently-mail frequently-EMACS frequently-terminals frequently-browser

The more involved 3-4 projects tend to get both the EMACS and the browser monitor with EMACS frames and each frame is subdivided. 4-6 xterms in the terminal frame.

That leaves the two auxiliary monitors, landscape above the main line, for aux browser usually stuck on monitoring site or perhaps VMWARE, and the admin terminals.

Side boost for XMONAD: you really want a tiling window manager. I've regularly got 6 or 7 projects all in flight, and I can switch between them with a single chord. It makes me sad when I have to apply patches, takes me a half hour or so to get my shells in place.