Ten Mac Tips and Tricks for College Students

A new college year is just around the corner and students get ready for another year of education. University years are usually hectic and sometimes overwhelming, but they come with many benefits for students. You develop your soft skills, learn how to write better essays, research, and discover more about the subject you are studying. 

But as a student, you want to be as productive and efficient as possible, so that you’ll have enough time for all your plans. Sometimes, to be productive and focused stays solely in your power; other times, your devices and gadgets can boost them. This is the case with Macs, some of the most popular and user-friendly laptops for students and not only. 

There are some tips and tricks that will help you use all the features a Mac comes with that will make you more productive. 

1. Learn the Trackpad Gestures 

The new macOS comes with many shortcuts that are exactly what you are looking for. Any student works on multiple projects at the same time. You need to juggle between documents and web pages, and sometimes it may feel that you lose a lot of time. Well, with the new gestures, you can swipe between pages or full-screen apps, scroll and zoom, and many more. 

2. Night Shift 

University years are full of essays to write and new things to study for exams. And sometimes, you may end up doing this in the middle of the night. Because the blue light from your screen can put a strain on your eyes, activate the night shift. Your Mac will automatically adjust the luminosity of your screen depending on the local hour. No matter if you are writing your essays or writing papers for money. Check StudyClerk for more tips and tricks on the report, and paper writing. They can support you in this process and teach you a few nice writing techniques. 

3. Use Finder 

Finder has some quick actions you can take to find your files faster. At the same time, a very nice thing about Mac is that it allows you to tag your documents, photos, files, and so on with colored tags! Like this, it will be easier to find, organize and sort them based on urgency, importance, or other criteria. 

4. Taking Screenshots 

Taking screenshots was once difficult, but nowadays it is as easy as you would do it on your phone. The greatest thing about Mac is that it’s user-friendly, so taking screenshots is facile. There is a keyboard combination you can use (command + shift + 4 – for snipping a part of your desktop or command + shift + 3 for a desktop screenshot). The screenshot is automatically saved and you can start editing it instantly. 

5. Sync Your iCloud Account 

What you can do to protect your files in case your laptop breaks or crashes is to connect to your iCloud account. If you already have another Apple product, you surely have an account. If your Mac is the first Apple product you have, then sign up for an iCloud account. It will sync all your documents online so that you will not lose anything. The best thing about this is that you can access your Mac files stored on iCloud from your phone too. 

6. Track Your Classes on Your Calendar 

Your schedule can be very crowded sometimes, especially because there might be class changes. You need all this information in one place, so why not use your Calendar? You can get reminders and notifications on your Mac so that you won’t miss any class. You can easily customize and populate your calendar with your class schedule.

7. Use Voice Memos 

Mac has a voice memos app you can use to record your meetings with colleagues or classes you take part in. recording the class helps you come back to the information later and make sure you do not miss any important detail. 

8. Screen Recording Option 

Besides voice recording, Mac comes with an option to record your screen as well. This functionality is very helpful especially when you work on group projects or teach your colleagues. 

9. Use Keynote for Presentations and Making Outlines 

Many would think that the Keynote app on Mac is only for making presentations, but it can also be used for making outlines. This is pretty nice functionality for students because writing assignments and essays are among the most common tasks. 

10. PDF Webpages 

When you research, you come across many interesting articles you would want to revisit or store somewhere for later use. Instead of marking the webpage as a bookmark, you can export it as a PDF and save it with your course files. 

Conclusion 

There are many shortcuts you can use on your Mac and being aware of them will help you be more productive and efficient. These are 10 Mac tips and tricks that will help you pursue your academic goals in a more organized and structured way. 

Bio lines: Robert Griffith is a content writer. He is passionate about technology. Robert keeps himself updated by reading tech magazines and blogs.