Simple Ways to Speed Up a Slow Mac
That spinning beach ball. The lag when you switch apps. The long startup time. A slow Mac is frustrating, but often fixable. Here's what to try before you consider buying a new one.
Quick Wins
Restart regularly. If you haven't restarted in weeks (check the uptime in Activity Monitor), a simple restart can free up memory and clear temporary files. Try to restart at least once a week.
Free up storage space. Macs slow down significantly when storage is nearly full. Click the Apple menu > About This Mac > Storage. If you're over 90% full, it's time to clean up. Start with the Trash, Downloads folder, and old files you don't need.
Reduce login items. Go to System Settings > General > Login Items. Remove anything that doesn't need to start when your Mac boots. Every app here slows down your startup.
Close unused apps. Having 20 apps open isn't a flex - it's a memory drain. Quit apps you're not actively using. Check for background apps in the menu bar too.
Going Deeper
Check Activity Monitor. Open Activity Monitor (in Applications > Utilities) and click the CPU tab. Sort by "% CPU" to see what's hogging resources. If something unfamiliar is eating CPU, look it up before force-quitting.
Manage browser tabs. Each browser tab uses memory. If you're a tab hoarder (no judgment), consider a tab manager extension or just bookmark things and close them.
Consider your age. Your Mac's age, I mean. If it's 7+ years old with a spinning hard drive, no amount of optimization will make it feel new. Sometimes an SSD upgrade can work wonders, though.
The Bigger Picture
A slow Mac is sometimes a symptom of other issues - malware, failing hardware, or just too much digital clutter accumulated over years. Regular maintenance prevents most problems.
When Professional Help Makes Sense
If basic cleanup doesn't help, there might be something deeper going on. We can diagnose whether it's a software issue, hardware problem, or if an upgrade (like adding RAM or an SSD) would give your Mac new life.
Mac still sluggish? We can take a look and figure out whether to tune it up, upgrade it, or if it's time for something new. Let's talk.