87 Time-Saving Tips For Mac Users

Discover smart shortcuts, and be more productive with your Mac

- Carrie Marshall

Macs are famed for their ease of use: “it just works” was always so much more than a marketing slogan.

Macs are made to do things elegantly and efficiently, and the more time you spend discovering what yours can do, the more you’ll be able to get things done.

Every Mac is jam-packed with useful features that are designed to make things easier, faster or both. Once you’ve discovered the ones that suit you, your days will be brighter, your work more efficient and your hair more glossy. We’re only lying about that last one… From Safari’s shortcuts to Mission Control’s multiple desktops, from fiddling with the Finder to mastering Mail, these tips will help you get even more from your Mac. We’ll discover how to make your Mac more organised, how to do everyday tasks more quickly and how to make the most of the new features Apple’s added in macOS Catalina.

Start up faster!

1 Start more quickly

The more things launch when your Mac starts, the slower it’ll be. To remove unwanted startup items, go into System Preferences > Users > Login Items, and you can see and change which items automatically launch and login.

2 Start automatically

You can get your Mac to start up or wake up at a specific time: just go into System Preferences > Energy Saver > Schedule and you can create a schedule that applies to what you require on an everyday basis or just specific days.

3 Login with your Watch

You can unlock your Mac with your Apple Watch. To enable this, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Allow Your Apple Watch To Unlock Your Mac. If you’d rather use your phone, you’ll need a third-party app.

Desktop makeovers

1 Sidecar (Catalina only)