how can i make the side tool bars smaller?

Look at the top right corner of  the panels for the two arrowhead icon. This toggles between iconic and expanded. Iconic panels just show the name and icon until you click on them, then they open full-size next to it.

If you dock them to the side, you can stack up many panels, and expand and contract them as needed:

Every tab group is divided, and shows every tab in that group. You can also resize it to show just icons, if you like.

Note that the Tool Bar is different and its own thing.

See: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/hidpi-retina.html

If you have your interface scaled higher than 100%, scale it back until the panels fit comfortably on your screen.

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out. We're here to help.

You can go to the panels, and when the mouse pointer changes into an arrow, you will be able to adjust the size accordingly. You can also change the thumbnail sizes of the layers by right-clicking them and choosing the size you want. If nothing helps, then go to Windows> Workspace> Reset Essentials.

I am sharing a small video where you will be able to see the adjustments.

Link: https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/c4f18163-e9e9-4b27-6231-c9f4f324516e

Let us know if that helps.

Regards.

Ranjisha