Update apps
Most of us are guilty of only updating our apps once our Mac has told us that they need updating, but we should be checking regularly for any updates. If you are using anything that isn’t the latest version it will run slower than it should. The Mac App store that was introduced in OS X 10.6 is a great way to check. Just open it up and go to the ‘Updates’ tab (visible in image above) and update any updates available in there. Your device will thank you for it.
Remove apps you don’t use
Speaking of apps, the space that having a lot of apps will take up on your device could be the difference between a fast load time and a sluggish experience. Especially if you have an older Mac with a spinning hard drive.
To delete any apps you aren’t going to use, go to Finder > Applications and then drag chosen apps to the Trash (or alternatively right click and click Delete).
Turn off animations
Unnecessary animations can affect the entire experience on your device as valuable resources that could be dedicated to other tasks, such as opening a programme, are taken up.
You can go to System preferences > Dock and then switch off the relevant options to sort this.
Remove Widgets
A lot of users don’t realise that Widgets can run silently in the background using up valuable resources.
To switch them off or remove any, go to the Widgets panel > click the minus > remove any that aren’t needed.
Clear web data
Your web browsers can hoard a lot of data on your device from a long browser history, which can slow down your web browsing.
If you are using Safari, open Safari > Click ‘Safari’ in the menu bar > select ‘Clear History and Website Data.’
If you are using Google Chrome, open Google Chrome > Click ‘History’ in the menu bar > click ‘Show Full History’ and then click ‘Clear Browsing Data.’
Take a look at your hard drive
Your Apple Mac will have a programme called ‘Disk Utility’ that can scan your drive and check for any issues. If there is any Disk Utility will advise you what to do. If there is an issue it may be the cause of your slow Mac.
Turn off transparency
Turning off your transparency is a quick and easy way to lighten the load on your Mac. This is especially recommended for older Mac machines (before 2012) as they can become overwhelmed if they have too much going on… Like humans 🙂
Go to Settings > Accessibility then tick the ‘Reduce Transparency’ box.
Restart
If you’re using your Mac and it seems to be running especially slow or keeps playing up, it may simply need restarting. Simple, common knowledge, but true.
Add more RAM
Adding more ram/upgrading memory is pretty much a last option as it is pretty drastic and costly, especially for MacBook Air users, but if you really need to reanimate your machine this is the way to do it. But be very careful when you buy as the wrong type can break your Mac.
Activity Monitor
Your Activity Monitor is a pretty easy way to speed up your Mac. Go to the Activity Monitor and a list of everything that your Mac is doing will appear. If there’s anything going on that you don’t need you can click the ‘process’ and kill it.
(Thank you Business Insider for the tips!)