It very much depends on your workflow and the tools you need. If you rely on a full-fat IDE, it'll probably be a disaster; if you're mainly a command-line user, you might be pleasantly surprised. A small screen can be quite relaxing, because it constrains the amount of visual clutter. If you've got a giant 4k display, there's a temptation to fill all those pixels with distracting and non-essential information. A little 11" screen forces you to focus on what's essential.

I wouldn't want to read a book-sized newspaper, but I also wouldn't want to read a broadsheet-sized novel.