{"id":4043,"date":"2019-11-20T23:42:15","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T19:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krisp.ai\/blog\/?p=4043"},"modified":"2024-07-04T12:52:56","modified_gmt":"2024-07-04T08:52:56","slug":"mac-productivity-hacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krisp.ai\/blog\/mac-productivity-hacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Mac Productivity Hacks, Tips and Tricks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mac productivity tips & tricks, here we come!<\/span><\/p>\n

Most Mac users grossly under-utilize their devices, they hardly use it to its fullest capacity. Think of it this way, imagine someone buying a car but using it as though it were a bicycle. Just because they don\u2019t know any better? <\/span><\/p>\n

That’s nothing short of heartbreaking and you certainly can feel yourself wanting to tell them how much they are missing right? That\u2019s exactly what this post is setting out to do.<\/span><\/p>\n

This post is relevant to just about anyone who uses a <\/span>Mac<\/span> and wants to get more done in less time, ranging from businesses that use the Mac for their day-to-day activities to governmental agencies that buy Mac computers in bulk to distribute among their staff and the individuals who choose to use theirs privately.<\/span><\/p>\n

The post seeks to cover some smart hacks, pretty useful tips, and neat tricks that help to improve productivity while you use a Mac.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are 12 Mac hacks to help you get ahead:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[demo]<\/p>\n

1. BLOCK OUT NOISE<\/span><\/h2>\n

Conference calls and especially video conferencing have become an absolute must in today\u2019s business world and those who are not jumping on the bandwagon are certainly going to be left behind and the consequences on their bottom line are going to be dire.<\/span><\/p>\n

Video conferencing on the Mac might be somewhat problematic if you\u2019re making a call from a reasonably noisy environment, and it\u2019s usually not the fault of your Mac<\/a>. One app that can help straighten things out and prevent the noise from disturbing your conversation is Krisp.<\/span><\/p>\n

Krisp<\/span><\/a> filters your audio both ways making sure no noise gets to your ears on your side or the ears of your callers at the other end of the call.<\/span><\/p>\n

To use Krisp, simply download the free Krisp app and select it as your microphone when making your conference calls.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. TROUBLESHOOT YOUR GRANDMA\u2019S COMPUTER ISSUES REMOTELY<\/span><\/h2>\n

Have you ever tried to explain a technical problem to a non-technical person over the phone? I kid you not, it’s usually a long, difficult and frustrating conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n

We all have that close relative or friend who is non-tech savvy but needs help with fixing their computer issues from time to time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, guess what? Rather than having such frustrating calls with your grandma or any other close relative for that matter, wouldn\u2019t it be lovely and so much easier to troubleshoot if you could remotely access their screen and control their Mac from wherever you are in the world? (even if you were vacationing in faraway Thailand?) It turns out, there\u2019s a smart hack for that as long as you\u2019re both connected to the internet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how:<\/span><\/p>\n

Launch \u201cscreen sharing\u201d on your Mac, you can find it with Spotlight then enter your Grandma\u2019s Apple ID, if you don\u2019t know it, have her look it up from the iCloud pane of System Preferences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She\u2019ll receive a notification asking her to grant you permission to view her screen once she grants it you\u2019re in.<\/span><\/p>\n

If it still doesn\u2019t work, make sure she enables screen sharing in the sharing pane of System Preferences.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. USE YOUR MAC TO SEND AND RECEIVE SMS\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

“Why would I need to send text messages on my Mac?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

You might wonder. And that\u2019s a valid question. Well for starters, you won\u2019t have to switch between multiple devices since it\u2019s much easier to do all your work from your Mac, and besides, typing is faster and more accurate on a computer than on a smartphone, and texting on your Mac helps to save your phone battery. So what\u2019s there to hate?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now that you know what you stand to gain, let\u2019s answer the next question which is, how do I send and receive text messages on my Mac.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"mac<\/p>\n

Well, first you have to have an iPhone and it has to be running at least iOS 8.1. Once you have that covered simply toggle on the Text message Forwarding<\/strong><\/em> option under settings under messaging on your iPhone. There you have it, simple as ABC.<\/span><\/p>\n

If it doesn\u2019t work, check again to make sure you\u2019re signed into the same iMessage account both on your Mac and your iPhone or other iOS devices.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. HAVE DIALOGUES WITH YOUR MAC<\/span><\/h2>\n

Yes, you read that correctly you can talk to your Mac and have it respond to you.<\/span><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t completely new, those of you that have been using the Mac from way back know that you could talk to it and have it talk back through dictation.<\/span><\/p>\n

But you\u2019ll all agree with me that Siri\u2019s arrival on the scene completely redefined the art of talking to computers and things improved very significantly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how to get it started:<\/span><\/p>\n

Simply press the command key<\/strong><\/em> and the space key<\/strong><\/em> for a couple of seconds or click the Siri button from your Menu Bar<\/strong><\/em> and you\u2019ll have good old Siri helping to make your work easier and faster on the Mac.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have a newer version of the Mac you can summon Siri by simply saying \u2018Hey Siri\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

And once Siri is up you can ask it to do all manner of things for you, below are a few of them:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hey Siri<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n