How I took control of my Mac’s memory usage (and you can too)

Photo by Jan Losert on Unsplash

Why do Macs run hotter than PCs? ‘Cos they don’t have Windows. I really ought to pay my Dad commission for these awful jokes, but anyway, he’ll have to make do with some mild fame (ie, people rolling their eyes at him) on the internet instead.

Here’s the thing: From time to time, my beautiful Mac gets a bit slow, sluggish, and meh. And, I think I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s ALWAYS when I’m on a tight deadline with no time to spare for fiddling about things like Topol (there’s a joke for the Grandmas in the room).

So I needed to find quick ways **how to reduce memory usage on Mac** and apps, and tips for a good memory clean Mac.

Source: https://giphy.com/gifs/nbc-jane-lynch-you-are-the-weakest-link-weakestlink-3C5mnuUo7ul6fWo5ah

What I do to manage my…thingy…what’s it called…?

Memory. That’s right…so I’ve found some ways to do it and I want to share them with you.

My first port of call is always the native tool that macOS offers. As it’s built-in, it’s going to be my first step to solving problems such as why is my memory usage so high?

The best one to start with is Activity Monitor, which you can access by going to Finder in your dock, selecting Apps on the left-hand side, scrolling down to Utilities, and then clicking on Activity Monitor. Opening this up gives me an instant idea of what’s eating memory and what’s not. From here, I’m able to see what I need to manage to keep my Mac running smoothly.

With a few clicks, I can check what’s choking my CPU, look for apps with higher-than-average usage, and quit any apps (or processes) that are causing problems. A restart is all I need, and I’m often good to go.

But…what if I need something else…well…I’ve got some handy hints.

Apps that make memory management magnificent

No doubt that the native apps on Mac rule, but there are some other third-party application memory Mac problem solvers that I reckon are worth a shot if extra help is required! Come on and I’ll show you what I think works the best.

Check your CPU like a pro

For me, **iStat Menus** is a great choice as I’m lazy and with this in the menu bar at the top of the screen, I’m only a click away from seeing what’s what with my memory on my Mac. If only they made these for human brains, I’d be a happy chappy.

Magic for memory because

• Takes one click to see what’s what
• Unobtrusively gets on with its job in the background
• Doesn’t take up too much space on your Mac

Calm your apps down ;)

With **App Tamer**, I can slow down or stop the apps that are using way too much CPU. It spots the memory hoggers on your Mac and tells them to pipe down with ease. I can manually adjust the apps I want to control, and offload any I no longer need.

Magic for memory because

• Simple to control from the menu bar
• I love the handy feature that changes the color of its menu bar icon, letting me know when CPU usage on my Mac increases
• I can choose to slow down a background app or stop it altogether

Mac memory management made mega-easy

It’s just an all-around good egg, and I rate **CleanMyMac** for pretty much anything on my Mac that requires decluttering, sorting, or managing my memory usage. Its simple interface is easy to get the hang of — you don’t need to be a tech expert. It’ll do its thing in the background while I get on with writing bad jokes.

Magic for memory because

• Love it because it’s an all-in-one Mac care tool
• I can scan for malware regularly
• The Smart Care feature is a fab way to give my Mac a quick overhaul

Get out while you can

If I’ve got lots of apps open all at once and don’t want to close them one by one, **QuitAll** does it for me, and it sits quietly in the menu bar til I need it. It means I don’t need to stop what I’m doing and restart my machine, too — which saves precious minutes when I’m tight for time.

Magic for memory because

• It’ll selectively quit apps I’m not using without causing me any probs
• I can easily view which apps are working away in the background and which ones are doing squat diddly!
• Can free up apps that are stuck and need to be force-quit.

Don’t forget to look after your Mac memory…use my tips!

With the help of native tools like Activity Monitor and these ace third-party suggestions like iStat Menus, App Tamer, CleanMyMac, and **QuitAll**, I can manage my Mac’s memory without losing my mind. This is essential when I’ve got lots of things on the go and no time to look after everything.

Guess what? I got all these and more on **Setapp — take the free 7-day trial** and see how much you can gain. You won’t look back!