If you have had your Mac for a few years now and have not done any regular maintenance work, your computer has likely become slower.
However, Macs are not the cheapest devices, and once you invest in a high-quality device like that, you should learn how to take proper care of your computer. Thus, there are quite a few things you can do to prevent your Mac from slowing down and fix a slow Mac after it has already become slow.
In this article, you will find the list of 8 great tips to optimize your Mac’s performance. The tips include some efficiency tricks and keeping enough free disk space at all times.
1: Check Activity Monitor
If you have quite a few apps running in the background and notice some sudden changes in your Mac’s speeding, it is probably because some of those apps are using way too many system resources.
By opening the Activity Monitor, you can close the apps using most of the system’s resources. However, if you need those apps to do your work, consider looking for alternative apps in the future.
2: Speed up the Startup Process
Sometimes the list of the login items that you have set may be the main problem that causes both a slow startup and a low performance of your Mac. Login items are apps that launch automatically right after you boot your computer.
Therefore, if you have quite a few apps listed as your login apps and those are resource-heavy applications, it will prolong the startup process and slow down your computer during the day. Edit your login items by opening System Preferences, then Users & Groups, and Login Items.
3: Use the Spotlight Search for Quick Access
Spotlight Search is a great built-in tool that can be used for various causes, including faster access to apps and files you want to open. You can either open the Spotlight Search by clicking on the Magnifying Glass at the top right corner or by using the combination Command + Space.
Once you open the Spotlight Search, type in the name of a file or application that you want to open, and hit Enter. Besides, you can use this tool to convert currency and as a substitute for the Calculator application.
4: Update the macOS & Apps
To have a Mac that is still high-performing after a few years of usage, you need to make sure that you always update your computer and its apps. The Apple developer team is working on releasing these updates and upgrading the overall performance and security of macOS.
Once a new version of macOS is launched, most app developers work on updating their apps to optimize them to perform at their best with the latest macOS version.
5: Protect Mac From Malware & Viruses
Your Mac has a built-in Firewall that makes it a pretty safe computer on its own. However, you need to keep in mind that the more people choose to purchase a Mac instead of any other computer, the more malware and viruses will appear to target Mac users.
Thus, to keep your device and personal data safe at all times, be smart and do not open suspicious emails, and do not download content from untrustworthy websites. Also, make sure you choose a proper antivirus for your Mac.
6: Have Enough Free Disk Space
If you want your Mac to perform well and not lag, it is possible even if you own an old Mac. The most important factor that can influence the speed and performance of your computer is disk space. Once you have less than 10% free storage space on your disk, Mac will begin to lag and underperform.
To see how much free storage space you have left, click the Apple icon from the top left side of your screen, navigate to the About This Mac option, and open the Storage tab. More to it, having enough free disk space will improve your gaming experience if you like to play video games.
7: Uninstall Apps
Apps can take a whole lot of space, especially if they are in high-quality graphics. Moreover, often people tend to download new apps from boredom rather than from a true need; thus, these apps are quickly forgotten and only take up valuable disk space on your Mac.
Therefore, to ensure that you have more than 10% of free storage space on your Mac, review the apps you have installed on your computer from time to time and remove the unneeded ones.
8: Empty the Trash Bin Automatically
Removing the deleted files from the Trash Bin is very important if you are striving to have more free disk space. This is because the files you deleted will be stored in the Trash Bin and taking up storage space as long as you do not remove them manually.
However, suppose you have trouble remembering to remove the deleted items from the Trash Bin. In that case, you can enable an option that will remove the files from the Trash Bin after 30 days after their original deletion. Activate this feature in the Manage Storage menu.