The MacBook is a very powerful tool that you can utilize to increase your productivity.
What makes this machine unique is the products within its ecosystem.
These tools can make the difference between mere effectiveness and significant efficiency.
Meanwhile, these are actually regular applications that most people may know or even use, many individuals do not properly optimize them to improve efficiency.
Like your home, productivity applications need to be properly laid out. Users need to accurately arrange these tools in a way that makes working with them more efficient.
Apple Productivity Tools
Not every Mac user knows about apps that can increase their productivity. This article will highlight some of the applications that can increase an individual’s efficiency.
Below are Apple productivity tools every Mac user must install on their computer.
1Password
Everyone who uses the internet can attest to the challenges of using passwords.
While they provide security, these safety measures can also create their own problems.
There are many issues associated with the use of passwords. One of them is that people end up forgetting their passwords and have to constantly create new ones.
Other times, the platform or system may demand that users change their security phrase.
Having a tool like 1Password is very helpful in avoiding these situations. This is not your regular password management tool that simply stores security phrases.
1Password has a feature that ascertains if your current password is strong or can be easily compromised.
This app uses a secret key to protect all your password. It also synchronizes the watchword across all devices.
Backblaze
Backblaze is a cloud storage platform that has an app for MacBook. People can use it to preserve important files, as the software works in the background and automatically stores data according to the settings. People can store information for 30 days, one year or forever.
While the MacBook is a very efficient device, mishaps do happen. Sometimes, the computer may crash due to a factory error.
Other times, you may just discover that your Mac is not recognizing the external hard drive. Situations like this can force people to format their computer and lose every file they have stored on it.
Contrary to popular opinion, this is not a security issue and a cybersecurity software may not prevent such cases.
However, people can still mitigate the damages and ensure that they are not stranded.
Backing up important information to a cloud storage will help people to easily recover if their computer crashes.
In addition, they can also restore backup data to other devices once they sign in. This is more efficient than having to manually transfer data from one PC to another.
Clockify
Knowing how long it takes to complete specific tasks is essential. This kind of detail can help people plan more efficiently and arrange their schedules accordingly.
They can also identify areas where they need to improve.
Clockify is a tool that ascertains the amount of time people spend on specific activities on their computer. It can help people manage their projects better.
Furthermore, this tool can be essential when working on employee payroll and identifying those who did overtime.
Scribe
There are times when you cannot explain certain things properly via the use of words. It is occasions like this where the Scribe tool comes to play.
This is a Mac app that people can install either as an app or browser extension.
It can be used to create step-by-step “how-to” videos and pictures. It can also record the Mac screen and voice messages from the instructor.
People can either share the recordings as a file or via link, or embed them in webpages and blog posts.
Krisp
Background noise can be a serious issue if you are working from certain places.
Unless people have their own private office, it is difficult to avoid background noise.
Krisp is a Mac tool that removes active noise and sounds from other speakers. This enables users to focus and get the most important details of meetings and online calls.
In addition, people can create virtual backgrounds during calls if they are on a train or similar environments that are not visually pleasing.
Although this application does more than noise cancellation, Krisp provides insights into how many hours people spend on a call and other meeting insights. This application can be integrated into more than 800 communication tools.
Magnet
There are times when you are working on multiple tabs simultaneously. The nature of such work may require you to keep 3 or more windows displayed on your screen. This can be a challenge, as most computers can display a maximum of two tabs efficiently.
With Magnet, Mac users can operate more efficiently by opening multiple tabs on the same screen. This app aligns more than two windows to enable them to appear on the same screen without interfering with others.
How to Utilize These Tools for an Efficient Workflow
So far, we have outlined some Apple productivity tools that can enable Mac users to work efficiently. However, these applications still need some customization to function optimally.
Below are some initiatives that people can utilize to ensure efficient workflow.
Choose the Right Productivity Tools
Most people will go through the tools listed above and are currently excited about their amazing features.
Like an average Mac user, they will want to install all of them on your PC. Well, this is a wrong move and will not make anyone more productive.
Instead, it will occupy space and run in the background.
This will cause the computer to lag, instead of becoming more efficient.
Instead of dumping everything on the MacBook, people should identify the tools that they need.
Once they do this, they can choose to install the selected few to run on their computer. Worse still, never use multiple apps that serve the same or relatively similar purposes.
Enable Auto Startup and Grant Necessary Permissions
After installing these tools, the next step is setting them up. One way to do this is by granting these applications the necessary access.
Some of them may require permission to utilize the device location, storage space, camera, etc.
Meanwhile, not all apps run in the background automatically. It is essential for people to identify such applications and set them to start up automatically once the PC is turned on.
Failure to do this may cause people to miss certain attributes.
Integrate Tools With the Right Platforms
Many of these tools work excellently with other applications and systems.
For example, the Krisp app works perfectly with other video calling and virtual meeting platforms.
However, people cannot use the virtual background or noise cancellation feature without proper integration.
Similarly, users need to integrate cybersecurity software with their web browsers and social media apps for comprehensive protection.
In this regard, individuals need to integrate every productivity tool they have with apps, and systems where they are applicable.
Streamline Your Desktop and Notification
Away from the tools, there are basic steps people can take to increase productivity on their MacBook. One of those is by reducing the number of icons on the Desktop or home screen.
Having too many shortcuts can be overwhelming and makes it difficult to identify apps easily.
Furthermore, people should also streamline their notifications to avoid excess bugging. Go to the computer settings and turn off notifications from certain sources.
Doing this means that individuals do not have to filter through unimportant information to find what they want.
Conclusion
The Mac ecosystem contains some efficient and sophisticated tools that can improve productivity significantly. However, people need to identify and utilize those apps.
They can do this by getting only the applications they need, and customizing and integrating them with the necessary platforms.
