How to open Mac System Preferences?
To be able to set the Mac System Preferences, you will first have to open System Preferences window of Mac. Following is the easiest way to open Mac System Preferences window:
- Launch Spotlight search. This can be done by either pressing Command key symbol (⌘) + Space bar. Or you can click the Search icon
in the top right corner of the screen. - Type “System Preferences” and hit enter to launch System Preferences.
Trackpad settings
Tracking speed and the scroll direction are the key settings which you should consider tweaking as your personal preferences.
- For tracking speed : Go to System Preferences > Trackpad > Point & Click > Tracking speed
- For scroll direction : Go to System Preferences >Trackpad > Scroll & Zoom > Scroll direction : Natural [My preference, disable if you dont like that]
There are lot many more trackpad settings related to gestures etc and the default works best for most. But it is worth going through those to just know what all is possible with the trackpad.
Keyboard settings
- “Key Repeat” to Fast
- “Delay Until Repeat” to Short
Dock settings
- Position the dock to the bottom, left, right as per your preference.
- Remove the unnecessary apps from the doc which you don’t use. To remove a particular app from the dock, simply drag the app’s icon out of the dock and hold for a couple of seconds till “remove” appears on the icon, and then simply release.
- Keep the thinnest width as per your comfort. I’ll not recommend setting “Automatically hide and show the Dock” as it might slow you down while switching apps through the Dock.
Show Volume, Date/Time, Bluetooth, Battery Status in Menu Bar
- Go to System Preferences > Sound
Tick “Show volume in menu bar”
- Go to System Preferences > Bluetooth
Tick “Show Bluetooth in menu bar”
- Go to System Preferences > Energy Saver
Tick “Show battery status in menu bar”
- Go to System Preferences > Date & Time > Clock
Tick “Show date time in menu bar”
Conclusion
These are some of the Mac System Preferences which you might consider tweaking to boost you productivity. No preference settings works best for all, that is why these are configurable. These settings are put based on my preferences, so consider what works best for your use case, and change those settings accordingly.
There are lot more settings which can be tweaked in Mac, this should just be a starting point for you to start configuring your environment to your liking be most productive.
