System Preferences
The first thing you should do is update your OS. To do that, go to: Apple menu () -> System Settings.. -> Software Update
Don't forget to sign in your Apple ID to sync in your iCloud account
There are a couple of tweaks you could make to the System Preferences. These settings below are all optional, so consider them as suggestions.
General
Check Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices
Recent Items : None
Appearance
Appearance : Dark
Accessibility
Motor
Pointer Control
Check Ignore built-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present (I primarily use a mouse. So I find it annoying when I accidentally move the mouse pointer when typing on the keyboard.)
Control Center
Spotlight -> Set to Don't Show in Menu Bar
Desktop & Dock
Your dock is probably flooded with all of macOS' default apps. I usually drag them all to the trash to make it cleaner. Then I would usually hide the Dock (cmd + option + d
) because accessing apps through spotlight search is faster.
Dock
Size : Small
Position on screen : Left
Uncheck Show suggested and recent apps in Dock
Desktop & Stage Manager
Set Click wallpaper to reveal desktop -> Only in Stage Manager
Hot Corners
Set all to none
Wallpaper
Update your favorite wallpaper.
Siri & Spotlight
Uncheck Ask Siri
Users & Groups
Set up your Password, Apple ID, Avatar, etc.
Internet Accounts
Add your Google, Yahoo, or iCloud accounts to sync in with the Mail, Calendar, Messages, and other macOS apps.
Keyboard
Set Press 🌐︎ key to -> Do Nothing
Set Shortcuts -> Spotlight -> uncheck Show Spotlight search
Set Shortcuts -> Spotlight -> uncheck Show Finder search window
Fun fact: Spotlight was redesigned completely on OS X 10.10 Yosemite and resembles a lot to Alfred. I still prefer using Ueli over Spotlight for various reasons (Just do your research). That being said, we'll be disabling the Spotlight search keyboard shortcut since we'll be using Ueli anyway.
Mouse
If you're using a Magic Mouse:
Adjust tracking speed to preferred speed
Set Secondary click -> Click Right Side
Trackpad
Point & Click
Enable Tap to click
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