6 Hidden Mac Settings That Immediately Increase Productiveness

Apple’s Mac choices have been setting the usual for productiveness and effectivity for generations, as these computer systems strike one of the best steadiness between software program and {hardware} capabilities. Particularly on the software program aspect, macOS presents a well-crafted, user-friendly expertise that fosters productiveness by its feature-rich but simple interface. The primary-party apps present strong performance by the Apple ecosystem that creates a synergy between your Mac and the remainder of your units, together with the iPhone and the iPad, thus making it handy to universally handle duties and notifications. Nonetheless, that is simply the highest layer of the entire Mac expertise, and even seasoned customers could also be unfamiliar with its true capabilities past the floor.

Whether or not you are a long-term consumer or somebody moving into Macs for the primary time, there are a number of lesser-known macOS native settings. You possibly can automate mundane workflows through a library of pre-built actions, or allow multitasking like a professional through grouping a number of apps to keep away from muddle. As such, this listing dives into six lesser-known Mac settings you must contemplate to spice up productiveness immediately.

Past shortcuts, there may be one other solution to carry out a job in your Mac immediately. You should use the Scorching Corners function to assign a selected motion to every nook of your display screen, with such actions starting from locking your display screen, placing the show to sleep, or opening Notepad. To set off the motion, you simply have to hover your mouse over the assigned space.

To allow Scorching Corners, you have to:

1. Open System Settings.
2. Search Desktop & Dock
3. Click on Scorching Corners
4. Configure

For programs on macOS Monterey and earlier, go to Desktop & Display Saver → Display Saver, and the Scorching Corners setting is at the underside proper of the tab.

You may as well select to arrange a Scorching Nook with a modifier key, in order that transferring the mouse cursor into that nook alone wouldn’t activate the designated perform. This prevents the unintended triggering of those actions. Modifier keys embody Command, Shift, Choice, or Management. To disable Scorching Corners, choose the hyphen (-) possibility for the corresponding nook.

Whereas the Command+Tab combo is the staple for multitasking on a Mac, there are extra environment friendly alternate options. In instances the place you could have opened a cluster of apps, switching between them could be annoying, resulting in wasted time and diminished productiveness. That is the place Stage Supervisor comes into play. The perform permits opening a number of apps. With one major app within the middle, the remaining are organized on the left aspect of your display screen as previews. From there, you’ll be able to navigate by all apps, group/ungroup, pair them, and organize home windows to suit your wants greatest, whereas nonetheless staying up to date throughout every tab.

Stage Supervisor works with exterior screens as nicely, and you’ll drag and drop apps between each shows. You possibly can allow the function from the Desktop & Dock tab in System Settings, and toggle it on or off within the Management Heart on the high. Notably, your system have to be on macOS Ventura or later to make use of Stage Supervisor.

Ever working to a deadline and been distracted by a barrage of notifications? Whereas Do Not Disturb would work on most events, it blocks out notifications totally — together with those necessary for you. Fortunately, macOS Monterey launched Focus Mode, which helps you to create and customise current profiles, i.e, Work, Gaming, and Private modes, to permit or block notifications from apps or contacts based mostly in your wants. 

Focus Mode can also be a great continuity feature that syncs throughout your different Apple units and could be triggered robotically when getting into a location, at a selected time, or when opening or closing a selected app. For example, you’ll be able to set Work Focus Mode to activate everytime you open Slack, muting undesirable notifications, and therefore staying totally engaged with out interruptions. Moreover, you too can select to customise app habits, which means you’ll be able to change the content material proven in apps like Calendar, Mail, and Messages, exhibiting solely work or private content material by filtering out the opposite.

MacOS Sequoia was a game-changer, introducing Scale back Interruptions, an Apple Intelligence–powered feature inside Focus Mode in model 15.1, which robotically prioritizes or filters notifications based mostly on their urgency or whether or not they’re deemed nonessential. Whereas Focus Mode already has a tab within the Management Heart, it may also be created as a widget shortcut that everyone should be using.

Fast Look is an indispensable Mac function that permits you to get a fast sneak peek at information, whereas additionally providing minor modifying choices. To preview a file, merely choose an merchandise and press the House bar to get a glimpse. From there, customers can rotate pictures, zoom in or out, or use the markup instrument for primary edits, like cropping, including scribbles, and extra. Fast Look works with a variety of file varieties, together with commonest multimedia and doc codecs, corresponding to PDFs, textual content information, and shows. 

When choosing a number of information, you’ll be able to scroll by every of them through the arrow keys. You may as well click on on the thumbnail possibility within the top-right nook to view an outline of all chosen information. To shut the Fast Look preview, press the House bar once more. This function saves a variety of time by letting you navigate a number of information and make fast edits with out repeatedly opening and shutting them.

Most Mac customers disregard the Highlight function, treating it as a mere search button, however in actuality, it’s able to doing a lot extra. Apart from file and app searches, you’ll be able to carry out a wide range of actions by merely typing into the search bar, together with changing foreign money, calculating values, or toggling settings with out having to open System Settings itself. Aside from that, web searches may also be executed from Highlight by getting into your search phrases, and urgent Command + B to go proper into your default browser, or urgent Command + L to go looking a phrase within the dictionary.

With macOS Tahoe the Spotlight upgrade smartened productivity by introducing the brand new Actions filter, which helps you to set off features corresponding to sending emails, getting instructions, and extra, saving effort and time. The brand new Fast Keys function in Actions additionally permits you to arrange a selected job with a combo of letters for larger effectivity, e.g., making a Calendar occasion. To configure, you’ll be able to scroll by actions you may wish to create a shortcut for, and beside them you will discover an choice to assign the particular key combo you need.

Since its introduction, Automator has been considerably missed, however it’s an essential MacBook app you should be using in 2025. As an important Mac instrument for enhancing productiveness, it streamlines your workflows by dealing with repetitive duties for you. 

Inside Automator, you’ll be able to select your workflow sort, corresponding to Fast Motion, constructing with the particular steps you require. Despite the fact that the app could seem advanced, you do not want any coding data to make use of it, and it comes with an enormous library of pre-built actions that you will simply want to pull and drop into a brand new doc to execute.

Then, you’ll be able to select to batch rename information, convert file varieties in bulk, watermark a number of pictures, set a number of dates, and way more. There are tons of functionalities that customers will discover fascinating, made to measure for them, trimming the time taken on on a regular basis mundane duties at simply the clicking of a button.