You’ve got Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and the desktop version of Spotify all running at once. Still, that doesn’t mean your computer should move at a glacial pace. Here, five things that might be causing your machine to slow down.
5 Reasons Your Computer Is So Damn Slow
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Published Apr 17, 2017
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You Haven’t Updated Your Os
Hey you, clicking “ignore” when you get a software update notification on your Mac: If you’re not running Sierra, your machine is (sadly) out of date. We’re not saying you can’t get by with whatever operating system you’re running—for example, Yosemite or El Capitan—but an out-of-date OS could be the culprit for a machine that freezes up after minor moves (say, saving a Word doc).
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…and You Have Way To Many Tabs Open At Once
You jumped online to Google something real quick, but before you know it, you’ve got everything from The New York Times to cost comparisons of J.Crew cardigan sweaters open in various tabs. Best practices suggest that you should cap the number of tabs you have open simultaneously to nine if you want your computer to pick up the pace (or, eek, avoid crashing altogether).
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You Can’t Remember The Last Time You Fully Shut Down Your Machine
Carrie Bradshaw once said: “Sometimes the best thing we can do is breathe and reboot.” Honestly, your computer needs that same R&R (in the form of a restart) approximately once a week. It uses that time to install pertinent updates, run virus scans and more. The result? A machine that’s a lot less glitchy. (The best.)
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Your Desktop Looks Like A Disaster Zone
The more docs you save to your desktop, the slower your computer will run. The good news? The fix is easy. Just create a new folder (you can call it “Current Projects”) and drop anything urgent in there.
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You’re Running Too Many Programs At The Same Time
Sure, running Word, PowerPoint and Spotify shouldn’t slow down your machine, but open up Excel and Chrome and your computer could start to get overwhelmed. Do your best to close programs you’re not using to cut your Mac (or PC) some slack. Again, an up-to-date OS should minimize speed issues when operating multiple programs, but every little bit helps.
