If you like a clean and tidy digital workspace, these are some things you may want to adjust when setting up a new mac… or improving an old one!

A duotoned dark purple and beige version of the Apple laptop emoji, in front of a blue starburst shape

Summary: This article shares how to quickly set up a new Mac, from installing essential apps to customizing your workspace. It includes tips on setting up the Dock, Finder, and useful browser extensions, making the process smoother and more efficient.


Setting up a new computer is not something I do often, so I had to make myself a little cheat sheet of what to tidy up off the bat!

I like to:

  • Download any non-Apple programs, like Chrome, Spotify, Dropbox, 1Password and SizeUp
  • Install any browser extensions, like Awesome Screenshot, 1Password, Momentum and the Pinterest helper
  • Move the Dock to the left
  • Update the Finder sidebar so the options you don’t need are removed (and new ones added), then set your default new Finder window (eg. I like it to open at the top of my Dropbox folder)
Screenshot of a Note file showing a checklist of steps for setting up a new mac
The cheat sheet 😏

In this video (3min!), I chat through my new mac setup steps:

And here’s the result!

Screenshot of a minimal mac desktop
The (almost) finished product, with a tidy dock over to the left
Screenshot of a mac desktop with dock hidden and photo of a church in front of a Liquor sign
The actual finished product, complete with hidden dock and a photo I took as the wallpaper