Tips for Cleaning Up Your MacBook…

There is nothing worse than trying to open a new tab, and your computer just won’t let you do it. A slow computer can test that trait no matter how patient you are. It’s worse when you are trying to get some work done quickly or reply to emails, and everything you type takes more than a few seconds to appear on the screen. 

Most people who have iMac and Macbooks know that after a short while, and for seemingly no reason at all, a Mac can slow down and feel like it is unusable. It feels out of touch with how much the initial cost was too. 

So what can you do to make sure that your mac is running well and you don’t need to think about upgrading any time soon? 

Before you start making changes, check: 

Photo by Simon Hrozian on Unsplash

Internet speed

Your mac might be getting the blame when it is the slow internet that is to blame. Head to speedtest.net, check that your location and internet provider is correct, then hit ‘go.’ Give it a second and read your results. 

Read your results and if they seem low, give your internet provider a call to see what can be done about it. 

Hungry Apps

Some apps that we use on our computers are what they call resource hungry – which means that they will be using a lot more memory than other programs to run. Even those that are running in the background can be heavy…You can check which apps are using significant amounts of memory by heading to your activity monitor.  Use the Spyglass on the top right of your machine, and type in Activity Monitor, open it up, and see which programs you’re using that could be closed. 

Photo by Minh Pham on Unsplash

Downgrade

Each time a new OS is released, you are prompted to install it, but sometimes they are slower and a little more buggy than the previous ones. Mac owners don’t necessarily need to upgrade when a new one is out.  If you have upgraded your OS and you feel like it’s slow and unresponsive, then you can downgrade – check out these 3 ways to downgrade. 

Memory 

Depending on your memory size, you might’ve filled your mac up with things you don’t access or use often. For example, if you have loaded all of the holiday photos from last year – they would be better off on a hard drive. 

Click the apple in the top left-hand corner, then click ‘About This Mac.’ Navigate to Storage, and you will be given a visual of how much memory you are currently using.  You might find that you have some suggestions to help reduce the memory you are using – like offloading everything onto your iCloud space. 

By clicking ‘Manage,’ you’ll see several options to get you started in the fight against file clutter. 

Taking care of your computer is something that is a must when switching to running a business or home working: Starting Your Own Home Office – happy loves, Rosie. 

Photo by Malte Helmhold on Unsplash

Visuals 

When you are working, you don’t want your screen to look dull; shiny things, bouncy things, and other visual effects will actually slow the system. While they look great, if it is a choice between a faster working machine or something pretty – it’s better to choose the faster one.

To turn off any visual effects impacting your performance, head to Systems Preferences and Dock & Menu Bar. 

You’ll see two options to reduce the visual effects: 

• Automatically hide and show the dock
• Animate opening applications
• Minimise windows using: 

Untick the first two and set the latter for Scale. 

Desktop

It’s nice to have the things you often access right there at your fingertips, but it also means that you’re asking your computer to have everything available at all times. Don’t let apps and documents stack up on your desktop; take some time to declutter it. 

Anything you don’t need to delete, anything you don’t use often, put on an HDD or iCloud storage. 

Photo by Ella Jardim on Unsplash

Rest 

Just like us, your computer needs to rest too. Most people will close the lid of their laptop and not give it a second thought. The problem is our computers also need to have a break – and if you aren’t restarting your computer or turning it off when needed, you put more strain on it. 

Behind the scenes, it will run everything – because it is still on. 

Cache

Your computer is looking to be as quick as possible, and because of that, it will ensure that you have a range of cache files so that it can load them quickly for you. Sometimes, those piles of information stack up and can slow your computer down by not clearing your cache. 

Follow this guide for cache clearing: Set up content caching on Mac – Apple Support (IE). 

I hope these tips help you to Love you’re computer again!

Happy Computing People! x