Mac and Mac apps have been a boon for productive people since Apple launched them. Shrewd professionals worldwide have been using it for years to supercharge their productivity and manage their work with a sharp laser focus. This guide will address common problems occurring with Macs and the easy fixes.
“Future is created by what you do today, not what you plan to do tomorrow,” says a famous proverb. Most of us concentrate on being busy instead of productive, wasting our time and effort.
Productivity, in simple terms, is an unfailing commitment to excel in all your tasks with precise planning and undeterred focus. Using the right tools helps boost our productivity enormously and do innovative work in a short time.
If you want to improve your productivity with macOS and Mac apps, it is essential to familiarize yourself with these core points to streamline your work better.
File Organization
Organizing the files properly on the desktop will solve several issues as it becomes easy to search and retrieve them in no time. Users of macOS have the opportunity to save the searches with images on their desktops for easy retrieval at a later stage.
Various Mac apps for file organization enable storing files based on type, size, and data content. Parallels Desktop is an app that helps find identical files in one click. It also has other impressive features that allow you to speed up the system and aid you in screen recording.
System Slow and Wi-Fi Not Connecting
Mac requires a specific space in your system hard drive to install any OS update. Ensure you use reliable apps like CleanMyMac to free up disk space or optimize the space in the system before installing new updates.
It will prevent the updates from getting stuck in the middle and the system from becoming slower after the update. Also, ensure you have an uninterruptible internet connection during the download.
If the Wi-Fi doesn’t connect, drops frequently, or causes problems after upgrading or installing a new app or software, try to forget the network and reconnect it.
Open system preferences, network, advanced, select your network name and click on – and remove.
Reconnect to check whether it works. Else go to Finder, Go, go to folder and type /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/ and click on the go option and delete the following files.
Restart your system or router, and the problem will probably get fixed using this solution because mac has the facility to rebuild new preference files automatically.
Setapp gives you more tips and tricks on handling issues that occur after an upgrade. Use their guide to solve all your macOS issues that might arise after the latest update gets installed.Â
VPN and Bluetooth Issues
If you use a VPN to mask your identity or location and the service is not working with new updates, go to system preferences, click on the apple id, and select iCloud from the left menu. Click options in Private Relay and disable it.
If Bluetooth isn’t connecting, try to reset it by pressing Shift and clicking on the Bluetooth icon. Select reset the Bluetooth module in the popup and click ok.
Alternatively, you can also press Option plus command plus P plus R together on mac startup. Hold them together for 20 secs, and the Bluetooth should automatically start working.
Sometimes doing this will reset other system preferences. So, go to system preferences as soon as it gets done and check whether any other options or preferable settings you have made got changed. Reset them to your liking immediately.
Easy Shortcuts
Remembering the shortcuts is very helpful in speeding up the workflow. There are numerous shortcuts to use in macOS, which most people don’t use. Here are the five most valuable shortcuts not well-known to many macOS users.
- Cmd+W – closes a browser tab
- Cmd+ Space – opens a Spotlight search bar
- Cmd+G – helps to search text with better navigation
- Cmd+option+D – to show or hide the dock
- Cmd+ L– to reach the address bar directly
The macOS Mac apps users can utilize shortcuts to do everything literally, from adjusting the screen’s backlight to navigating between the previously opened web pages. Go to system preferences, keyboard, and shortcuts, where you can edit the shortcut combinations to work according to your preferences.
Extremely busy people often set shortcuts for every task, which are easy to remember. They use the key combinations extensively to work quickly and increase their productivity.
It is hard to remember most of the shortcuts, and most people forget them when working to reach a deadline. Printing the important shortcuts in bold and pinning them on the cubicle is a great way to refer to them whenever necessary.
Dictation Facilities
Go to system preferences – keyword and dictation, and you have the facility to control your system’s functions with voice commands. It is easy to use and saves ample time moving your mouse and remembering shortcuts.
Dictation facilities enable quick workers to create documents within a brief period. It is a great productivity booster and time-saver for busy people who want to organize everything on the go.
The macOS even presents options to create text shortcuts, filling up the actual sentences for frequent email users. Pre-recording the text shortcuts for letters, email replies, and repeated conversations helps them automate the process quickly.
The system will automatically retrieve the whole sentence by typing its short forms, like a single character or a couple of characters.Â
Backup Issues
If you are trying to take a backup and the Time machine feature is not responding, try to uncheck the “Back up Automatically” box. Use the + and – buttons to delete unwanted files and back up the core data alone to speed up the process.
If the backup process gets stuck for more than 5 minutes, it is wise to do this. Apps like Day One help you automatically back up certain data like your journals as and when you create them.
Top 9 Mac Apps to Increase Productivity
1. Haze
Hazel is a file manager that helps to upload files easily and automatically at a particular time. It even lets you mask your trash and retrieve details from it. It helps to archive and tag files easily and serves as a fantastic file organizer.
2. Slack
Slack is a messenger tool that helps streamline all communications with team members. Managers handling multiple teams use it to maintain process transparency and increase workflow integration. Easy collaboration is the main plus point of slack, and it can easily automate routine communication like announcing meeting times and dates or sending a circular.
3. AppCleaner
It is a tool that can help remove unused apps through a drag-and-drop interface. They regularly check for apps not used for a long time and request your permission to remove them to free hard drive space.
4. Pocket
This app helps you access content offline and works with various browsers. It is helpful to download and store versatile content like audio, video, and websites. Pocket also offers backup and advanced search facilities to search through your saved data.
5. Dropzone
The app has a drag-and-drop interface and efficiently organizes files. It is handy for file upload to YouTube and other servers. It is helpful to shorten URLs, install applications based on their type and allow easy ways to organize files by moving them around through mouse drag.
6. GoodTask
It is a combination of Todoist, calendar, and notes apps. You can view your to-do list based on the day, week, and month. It allows users to customize tasks based on their priority, label them as finished, and quickly move the finished jobs or pending tasks to another list.
7. Magnet
It is another favorite app that helps in organizing the desktop better. Users can move the app to edges by dragging and using several keyboard shortcuts to resize multiple windows and view them simultaneously. Many macOS users swear they cannot live without this app, which is essential for a quick workflow.
8. Dewo
It is an advanced app for Google calendar that helps you seamlessly integrate your workflow in simple steps. You will never forget anything with Dewo’s timely reminders. Users can arrange meeting times suitable for everyone, create sharing voting lists, and do deep work without distraction.Â
9. Airmail
Airmail is a handy app that transforms work assigned through email into tasks in no time. It helps you organize your emails easily by efficiently filtering out newsletters, subscriptions, and work-related data. You can create email templates and use them to reply to emails consistently.
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Conclusion
Increasing productivity without getting overwhelmed by the numerous distractions online is not easy. Advanced tools are necessary to organize the workflow, never miss any core tasks and integrate functions with the team.
Mac apps Users have a plethora of tools to increase their productivity regarding emails, calendars, file organizing, easy sharing, and uploading. Use the tools appropriately, overcome minor glitches appearing frequently, and become a productivity king/queen in your area of expertise.
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