Even as the offices reopen amid the COVID crisis, remote work has emerged as a long-term arrangement for many businesses. A large segment of teams continue to work from home, so it makes sense to reassess your WFH capabilities and fine-tune them for the future. For Mac users, there is a lot you can do to make your system ready for delivering better performance and productivity even as you operate remotely in the post-pandemic era. Let us share some tips and tricks that can be of help.
Stick to schedules with Screen Time
The biggest challenge associated with remote work is to manage distractions so that you can achieve the best productivity. Apple offers Screen Time app bundled with your Mac, which enables you to handle distractions while ensuring that you aren’t becoming a total hermit. If you haven’t explored this cool feature yet, now is the time to start leveraging it for enabling productivity with the long-term WFH arrangement.
Get more screen space for your Mac
Typically, employees are accustomed to large monitors at the office and smaller displays at home may make you uneasy. You can make up for the lack of screen space by using the Sidecar feature in macOS Catalina. It lets you use an iPad as a second display to get more screen space for working comfortably. It is a great feature if you are working on creative tasks or ones that involve copious note-taking.
Run the latest version
Upgrading to the latest version of Mac is always a good idea because upgrades bring access to performance enhancements and security patches that ensure better protection. If you are looking to upgrade to the latest Big Sur version, there isn’t a lot you would need to do. But you should also go through this post before making the move. Although you will probably want to stay with the version, make sure that you know your way back if you face some issues and want to revert to the current version.
Keep your system uncluttered
Another valuable piece of advice for WFH users is to keep your Mac uncluttered. You may not prioritize removing unused files from the system when working remotely but overloading it can seriously compromise the performance of your Mac eventually. It is the last thing you would want to happen because you do not have first-hand IT support at home. Also, steer clear of running too many apps or opening too many browser tabs simultaneously because these can also slow down the Mac.
Go the extra mile with WFH rules
Apart from the tech tips to do the best with your Mac while working from home, it is vital to reset the house rules now that it is an extended program. Make sure that you have a proper work-life balance. It is a good time to invest in ergonomic home office furniture because you would want to stay physically fit and healthy with a good posture. Take adequate rest breaks and pay attention to mental wellness.
When you work from home, everything boils down to productivity, and it is easy to achieve with Mac, provided that you take the right approach. Following these tips and hacks can make a lot of difference.