Using Visual Studio Code to code Python and questions concerning the interface

Hello all,
I am a 3rd year student in college using VsCode to write in Python and Java. I'm having a bit of difficulty making my workflow a little bit easier to manage, and wanted to reach out to see if anyone had any suggestions. I'm finding that using the Mac's built-in terminal application to run my code after writing it in Visual Studio has been more successful then using the terminal that is built into VsCode. Additionally, I have found that for me, the interface of Visual Studio seems to be very cluttered and a bit overwhelming, so I was curious how others dealt with this. I was thinking about switching to a different editor such as TextMate, but I really love the features and auto indention support, as well as the indention report extension for Vs. Is it logical to simply only have the editor portion of Visual Studio visible, or what panels would you suggest keeping or hiding?
Also, is there a source where I can find documentation on navigating Visual Studio Code with a screenreader? I've seen plenty of tutorials on the Windows side, but very few specifically tailored to Mac.
Stay well,
Gus