Hehe well the good news is that all you gotta remember is Alt+Spacebar and Launchy pops up. All you need to remember is the name of the program you're looking for. Even if you don't quite remember it, you can start typing in a word and Launchy will bring up relevant results.
I found that Google Desktop offerred similar functionality but in my experience was too slow and clunky to manage launching programs. I've since completely gotten rid of Google Desktop.
Lol. Still can't get rid of WindowBlinds though. Every few weeks I get tired of the the Zune or Energy Blue themes in XP and turn on the WB. I really love the look of 'Black' and 'Eminence". And then I have those on for a few weeks then turn 'em off to get some sort of performance boost I suppose. Not even sure if there is a performance hit at all from it.
Also tried Stardock ObjectDock and it's pretty nice, could even go for a full-on taskbar replacement if you buy the full version, but... Iunno. Could enhance productivity in some ways. If I took the time to really think about how I could use either taskbar, objectdock, or both to maximize workflow I'm sure I could come up with something but I'm good without it.
Another tool I use often, especially when dealing with opening/saving files in different folders, is Direct Folders. It's a free download and installs easily enough. What it does is allow you to double click in the open/save as dialog window and it'll bring up a context menu that'll let you quickly switch to a particular folder that you setup in the software. You can add as many folders to the list as you like. There is a pro version that lets you jump to the last folder/file used. Link:
Direct Folders - quick access to your favorite folders