Apple fans, where you at?

We don’t have to share the pros of using an Apple device or owning the entire Apple ecosystem. The brand has a loyal fan following that knows this very well. Instead, we’re sharing some useful tips and tricks to maximise your MacBook or iMac.

(If you already know them all, kudos to you!)

1) The Clock App

I can’t live without my phone’s clock/alarm app — it takes care of everything from morning alarms to recipe timings. I also use it for office naps (sanctioned ones!), but on the lowest volume level for fear of disrupting a colleague who is “in the zone”.

One day, to my surprise, I discovered that the newer MacBooks and iMacs (those running on macOS Ventura) have a Clock app too! It has the same features as the iPhone’s Clock app, so using it will be a breeze. This is handy for when your phone needs to charge in a different room or when you need to stash it away for maximum productivity.

The best part? You can plug in your earpieces and be alerted instantly when the time is up!

2) The “Stacks” Shortcut

 Save everything onto your desktop out of convenience? Finding things a little too messy?

If you’ve been manually shuffling everything, you’ve been doing it all wrong and “Stacks” is here to save the day! Through this shortcut, you can automatically organize files into neat, categorized stacks. Here’s how to use it:

• There are two ways to enable Stacks. The first is to go to your desktop, then click on the “View” menu in the menu bar. From there, select “Use Stacks”. Alternatively, simply right-click on the desktop and choose “Use Stacks”.

Before Stacks

• Once enabled, your files will be automatically grouped into different categories based on file types. To view the files within a stack, simply click on it, and it will expand to display its contents!

After Stacks

Want to hide the stacks temporarily? That’s doable! You can collapse them by simply right-clicking on the desktop and choosing “Collapse Stacks”. Handy, isn’t it?

3) “Floating” a Note on the Desktop

Most of you may know this hack, but we’ll share it with those that don’t!

When researching for an assignment, or taking notes, you may find yourself toggling frantically between your notetaking document and the webpage. Apple has a way to solve this! Open a fresh note in your Notes app, and right-click to open it in a separate window. You can then select Window -> Keep on Top from the menu bar.

Your note will now remain above other open application windows, even if you switch between apps! This won’t apply when you have an app in full-screen mode, however!

4) Find the Emojis

Need the perfect emoji for a reply or a text document? Sure, you can find it easily in the relevant social media app with a quick search or on emoji dictionary websites, but there’s another way! The “Command + Control + Spacebar” shortcut pulls out an emoji keyboard. Clicking on the icon on the top right expands the keyboard to reveal helpfully categorized symbols such as the em dash (—)! You will no longer need to search the Internet!

5) Spotlight(ing) Convenience 

Did you know how easy the Spotlight Search feature makes things? Apart from its search and app launching capabilities, it also doubles up as a dictionary, currency converter, unit converter, weather reporter (for any country), simple calculator, and temperature converter!

Don’t believe us? Give it a spin. You won’t have to open multiple tabs or interrupt your flow of thought any longer!

6) Locating a Missing Cursor

Sometimes your cursor gets lost amidst a sea of documents or items. If you need some help finding it, here’s the solution: just wiggle your mouse or finger back and forth rapidly for a few seconds. Your cursor will soon make its presence felt by increasing in size!

7) Quickly Hiding Windows

Need to share screen on Zoom or show your friend/colleague something? If there is an irrelevant window or one that pops up all of a sudden, don’t get flustered! Just use the shortcut “Command + H”. You will not quit the app but only hide the window. When you need it to make a triumphant return, just click on the app’s icon on the Dock!

There you are: seven small but mighty hacks that will make your work and study life a whole lot easier! How many did you know before reading this article, and do you have any to share with us? Let us know in the comments so that we can learn, too!