Apple loves to flaunt the new features and improved security a new macOS update will bring; however, they don’t mention the most annoying flaws such as apps crashing, battery draining, and overall slower system performance. Pressing the “update” button can give a fleeting sense of satisfaction, but the delay Mac can make a person feel perplexed and irritated at the same time, in turn, lowering productivity.
The purpose of this article is to simplify the process of customizing your Mac and assisting you in getting your work done efficiently while simultaneously optimizing your experience. This can be thought of as a full makeover for your fundamental system.
What Happens After the Update?
If you have updated your Mac and it seems slower than before, know that you are not the only one facing such an issue. The concerns can be background activities, older applications not functioning properly, or too many programs loading at startup.
If you are working on a deadline this can become extremely frustrating. Similar to the way it works with iOS version history, every macOS update comes with its own set of features and occasional bugs that can hinder efficiency. It is recommended to check how you can further optimize performance instead of getting flustered trying to sort through the range of issues. More often than not, some minor settings changes can make a world of a difference.
Adjust Your Energy Settings
The energy options on your Mac can impact its performance. Improperly balanced energy settings may cause sluggish processing speeds and reduced battery life.
You can modify these settings from System Preferences > Energy Saver. Make sure options such as “Put hard disks to sleep when possible” are not enabled, and the option for display dimming is not set too low.
Also, if you are not worried about the battery of your Mac, check “Better Performance” and your Mac will run like a beast. If you use a laptop, you may want to have it plugged into the wall when you are performing extremely intensive applications at the same time, otherwise, the computer will throttle its power.
Shut Off Any Alerts That You Don’t Need
Notifications can be helpful, but if overused they disrupt productivity and can slow your system down. If you are feeling buried under a mountain of messages, notifications, and alerts, it’s time to take action.
Head over to System Preferences > Notifications and wait for the spine-chilling sound of silence to wash over you as you turn off notifications from less important apps.
Email and social media are not essential for the functioning of your day, and neither are non-essential system updates. Doing this will remove needless distractions to help keep your system focused. This will also surely make a dent in having your processor wasted on menial tasks.
Cut Down on Background Apps
By running in the background, certain apps use system resources which can dramatically reduce a Mac’s performance. Programs like Dropbox or Google Drive, along with messaging services, tend to operate in the background, perpetually syncing or updating content.
Open Activity Monitor and evaluate the list of running applications to determine which ones consume the most resources. If an application is not needed, feel free to quit it.
Also, go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items and disable unnecessary applications that start automatically with your Mac. When the amount of background applications is lessened, the available CPU processing power and memory can be redirected towards the tasks that need it.
Spotlight Reindexing
When the results of a spotlight search are not as precise as they used to be or if the spotlight search is slow after an update, it would be best to reindex it. Finding files on your device is easy using Spotlight, but with time, its index seems to grow older, making search queries slower and leading your Mac to function poorly.
In order to coax Spotlight into reindexing, go to System Preferences>Spotlight> Privacy, grab your hard drive, put it into the list, and take it out after a short period of time. Reindexing improves the search speed and performance of Spotlight significantly. This might take some time, but once the reindexing is done, you will definitely notice the surge in search speed in the spotlight.
Look for Malware and Adware
Malware and adware can be a terrible, often unnoticeable, drain on your machine’s operations especially after an update. These unwelcome applications can operate without your notice and use up precious resources. To make certain that your Mac is free from these pests, scan using trusted programs like Malwarebytes or Avast for malware and adware.
Run autonomous scans to locate and extricate any malignant software that could be concealed in your system. This will not only enhance the efficiency of your Mac, but will also ensure your information remains safe for any potential breaches.
Change System Settings for Performance
Your Mac comes with many visual effects which slows down the performance of your laptop. In order to speed things up, go to System Preferences > Accessibility > Display and check the box that says Reduce Motion. This disables some of the fancy animations like window movements and transitions which helps your Mac’s processor to function faster.
Also, go to System Preferences > Dock and turn off Animate opening applications as well. By turning off these effects, your Mac has more resources to perform more important tasks, thereby allowing for increased responsiveness and speed.
Update Your Graphics Drivers
If you run heavy applications or use video editing software, the graphics performance can dramatically change the speed of your Mac. Slowdowns in these areas could potentially be caused by outdated or incompatible graphics drivers, something that is quite common. Although macOS generally updates graphics drivers automatically, it would be prudent to search for updates on your own.
Visit the App Store or the manufacturer’s website to find any potential driver and update issues relating to the hardware of your Mac. Smooth animations, enhanced visuals, and an overall better experience can be achieved by updating your graphic drivers.
