From decluttering your desktop to using voice commands, interacting with technology in the most efficient way can save time and improve productivity.

So if you’re a Mac user, here are ten tools to cut corners:

Keyboard Shortcuts

You’re probably familiar with the keyboard commands for copying and pasting text. But Macs have dozens of saved shortcuts and if any of your commonly used actions aren’t on the list, you can create bespoke ones.

Siri

Acting as an intelligent personal assistant, Siri helps you multitask by acting on voice commands. So while you’re making the final edits to a document, Siri can simultaneously message your colleague with an update or give you directions to your next meeting.

Mission Control

To avoid overcrowding your desktop with open windows, Mission Control enables you to create up to 16 additional desktops dedicated to individual activities. You can also add Hot Corners where moving your pointer to a part of the screen triggers a chosen action.

Smart Folders

Keep your desktop tidy and easily searchable by grouping files, folders and web searches that have something in common by type or date.

Sidecar

If you need extra space to work, Sidecar lets you extend or mirror your Mac desktop onto an iPad, which acts as a second display. It also enables you to draw with Apple Pencil to mark up images and PDFs.

Preview

This built-in app enables you to fill in forms, put password protection on sensitive documents and change file formats. You can also save a signature to insert in PDFs, saving you having to sign things individually.

Gestures

Tapping, swiping, pinching or spreading your fingers can prompt specified actions when using a Touchpad or Magic Mouse. Gestures simplify manoeuvres like zooming, scrolling and switching between apps and you can also create your own.

Text Replacement

Type faster by using text replacement to clear up typos, insert punctuation marks using keyboard commands and convert websites or email addresses into clickable Smart Links.

Spotlight

If you’re looking for an email, document or calendar entry, Spotlight can speed up your hunt by searching your Mac and also provides a calculator and converter.

Voice Control

You can also use your voice to trigger actions like scrolling up and down or to dictate longer pieces of text for an email or document, with certain commands adding punctuation marks and formatting your text.

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