5 MINUTES TO IMPROVE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY FOR LIFE

Let's take a quick test to determine if it's finally time to upgrade your Mac skills.

1. Do you ever click on the green circle in the top-left corner of an application to "minimize" the window?
2. Do you ever click on icons in the Application "Dock" on the bottom (default) of your screen?
3. Do you ever have troubles finding a file or determining in what folder that file resides?

If you said "yes" to any one of these, I have some bad news. You suck at using your Mac. Sorry, but you're as efficient as a sloth on weed. Don't worry, we can still be friends, but only if you take a few minutes to learn the following new skills. Oh, and by the way, they are guaranteed to make you LOVE your Mac again. Ok, here we go!

BE A BETTER PRESENTER

TIP #5: CREATE MULTIPLE DESKTOP LAYOUTS (3-FINGER SWIPE UP) AND MOVE BETWEEN THEM SEAMLESSLY (3-FINGER SWIPE SIDE-TO-SIDE) WITH "SPACES"

If you ever have to present using multiple applications then navigating between them can be a pain, between minimizing, maximizing, expanding to fill the full screen and switching between them, and we aren't even getting into complicating things even more with webinar software (like Google Hangouts or GoToMeeting). Thankfully, there's an elegant solution to this, and that's creating multiple Desktop layouts, or "Spaces" where navigating between them is as simple as a 3-finger swipe sideways. Make sure to practice this before your big presentation as it may take some time to get your layout perfect. Also, Spaces lends itself to increasing your productivity if you need to work between multiple full-screen apps or multiple-app layouts.

BE A BETTER DESIGNER

TIP #4: SCREEN CAPTURE A SECTION OF YOUR DESKTOP & SAVE IT TO YOUR DESKTOP (⌘ COMMAND + ⇧ SHIFT + 4)

Don't need to capture your entire Desktop? Me either. Use this command to allow you to select the precise rectangle-shaped image that you want to capture of anything on your screen (⌘ COMMAND + ⇧ SHIFT + 4). Just click-and-drag your mouse, and when you let go, it will snap an image and paste it to your Desktop.

Additionally, if you press the following (⌘ COMMAND + ⇧ SHIFT + 4) and then immediately press the "SPACE" bar (without using your mouse), the cursor will change to a camera icon and this will allow you to select any app window which will be captured precisely when you click the mouse/trackpad button. Pretty cool huh?

And just like before, if you want to skip the Desktop and paste your image into a document directly from the Clipboard, then use this (⌘ COMMAND + ⌃ CONTROL + ⇧ SHIFT + 4), then paste it using (⌘ COMMAND + V).

TIP #3: CAPTURE AN IMAGE OF YOUR DESKTOP & SAVE IT TO YOUR DESKTOP (⌘ COMMAND + ⇧ SHIFT + 3)

With this keyboard shortcut, you can capture your entire desktop as an image file (.png) to your desktop. If you are using multiple monitors, it will automatically capture each desktop in a separate file. If you want to paste your desktop image into a document, then skip saving it to the Desktop altogether and copy it to the Clipboard for immediate pasting using (⌘ COMMAND + ⌃ CONTROL + ⇧ SHIFT + 3), then paste it using (⌘ COMMAND + V).

IMPROVE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY & SAVE TIME

TIP #2: FIND ANY FILE, FOLDER OR APPLICATION FAST WITH "SPOTLIGHT SEARCH" (⌘ COMMAND + SPACE)

Why are you still clicking around searching for things on your computer clumsily like a hoarder looking for an old TV Guide in a cramped San Francisco flat? You have the most powerful search technology at your fingertips in a personal computer. So, why not put this technology to work? Use "Spotlight Search" to find anything need in just a few clicks. In fact, Spotlight Search will probably list what you are looking for before you even finish typing the entire name. Yeah, you are slow, but you are about to get a lot faster. Try it now by pressing "⌘ + SPACE" and then typing "Calcu" yeah, you've already found it before I finished telling you what we were looking for. Congratulations, I think you get it now!

TIP #1: QUICKLY NAVIGATE BETWEEN OPEN APPS USING APPLICATION SWITCHER (⌘ COMMAND + TAB)

Slack, Chrome, Outlook, Word, Excel, Photoshop...It's not uncommon to switch between multiple applications throughout the day. Your goal should be to do this while keeping your hands in typing position and minimize using the mouse, as this moves your hands out of typing position and reduces your productivity. Use "COMMAND + Tab" to quickly cycle forward through your open applications, starting with the most recent. Also, once you have pressed "COMMAND + TAB," while continuing to hold down the "COMMAND" key, you can then press the "~" (tilde) key to cycle the other way. Try it out now on your own!