Macbook Task Manager

Use Spotlight to open Activity Monitor: a Mac Task Manager The Activity Monitor is a powerful Task Manager application as it’s not only displaying running applications under user-level but also shows running applications under system-level or kernel level and a few other processes. How to Open the Task Manager on Mac The easiest way to open pretty much anything on your Mac is using Spotlight. This built-in search feature can find apps, files, and settings in just a few keystrokes. To open Spotlight, just press Cmd + Space on your Mac.

Macbook Task Manager Shortcut
Apple Task Manager Mac
Task Manager Shortcut

Do you own a MAC device, and If this is your first time to open Task Manager for Mac to use, then you might find it difficult to get acquainted with the happening with the device shortcuts and the apps as well, and to be frank this is a common thing and the main problem is app navigation is a very different one from Windows and has its own way of finding shortcuts and opening apps as well. A task manager helps you in better managing, organizing, and creating to-dos, lists, tasks, files, and other notes more efficiently. It helps you by sorting your tasks in a good manner to promote a stress-free work environment. The task management can only be done by proper planning, which helps to execute tasks within a specific time period. The Mac has its Task Manager, but it has a task log with a different name. The Active Monitor operates in a somewhat similar manner to how Task Manager works in Windows, which allows you to quickly access, control, and end tasks on Mac, applications, and any active processes that are running on Mac.

Well if you are here then I’m sure you must be new to Mac. This is the most common question mostly asked by users who switched from windows to mac “How to use task Manager on Mac”. Task manager is one of the most useful system monitor program. sometime our applications doesn’t work and we stuck into a window and only way to escape from that application is to end task using task manager.

Task manager provides information about the processes and programs running on a computer. Task manager easily views and manages tasks,applications and any other active processes that are running in Mac OS X. If you’re familiar with the Windows Task Manager, then you must wondering if there’s any task manager for mac?

Yes, there exists Task Manager on Mac but it has another name — “Activity Monitor”.

Contents

2 How to Use task manager on Mac
4 Frequently Asked Questions related to Mac Task Manager
- 4.2 2. Is there any Task Manager Alternatives for Mac?

What Activity Monitor is Capable of doing?

The processes that we see in activity monitor are user applications, system applications and invisible background processes. As soon as you open activity monitor you can see at the top of the Activity Monitor window there are 5 activity monitor tabs:

CPU
MEMORY
ENERGY
DISK
NETWORK
CACHE

The CPU pane shows how processes are affecting CPU (processor) activity
The Memory pane shows information about how memory or ram which is consumed
The Energy pane shows overall energy consumed by every single application more the energy consumption lesser the battery backup.
The Disk pane shows the amount of data that each process has read from your disk and written to your disk.
Network pane keeps record of amount of data mac is sending of receiving over network

How to Use task manager on Mac

If you’ve used windows than you must be familiar that we can run task Manager by hitting “CTRL+ALT+DELETE”.

In Mac procedure to open task Manager is bit different. Activity Monitor (Task Manager) is located in your /Applications/Utilities/ folder. You can use Spotlight as a keyboard shortcut for quickly access Task manager.

Follow these simple steps to access Task Manger using Spotlight :

Step 1 :- Using keyboard Press Command+Spacebar to get the Spotlight search field.

Step 2:- Search for “Activity Monitor” .

Step 3 :- You can see Activity Monitor field will appear on your screen double click on it to run.

And that’s how you can use Task Manager on Mac. There are some more methods to open Mac Task manager, let’s have a look.

Open Mac task Manager using finder

If this doesn’t Worked for you don’t panic I will teach you another way to run Task Manger in Mac OS X. Just follow these simple steps:

Click on the Finder icon in the Dock.
Choose Applications from the side menu of the window that appears.
In the Applications folder, select the Utilities folder and open it.
Double-click on the Activity Monitor icon to launch it.

Open task manager on MacOS using dock

Open Finder and navigate to applications and then Utilities.
Drag the Activity Monitor application icon to the dock to pin it.
Once pinned, you can instantly start up Activity Monitor simply by clicking on the pinned icon in the dock.

Is there any shortcut to Force close applications in Mac?

Windows user are very familiar that pressing ALT+CTRL+DELETE will take them to task manager where they can force close their apps or end all tasks running unnecessarily in background. Well there is very similar shortcut like this in mac as well.

To close force quit applications on mac press Command+Option+Escape keys which will bring up the Force Quit Applications window

Using this method of Task Manager Force Quit, you can close any stuck or frozen Window.

Frequently Asked Questions related to Mac Task Manager

1. What is kernel_task ?

While using activity monitor you must have noticed in CPU pane that there is one particular process namely “Kernel_task” which is consuming a lot of system resources.You must be wondering whether is it possible to kill it.

Since kernel_task is essentially the core of the macOS operating system, it’s impossible to stop it. One of the functions of kernel_task is to help manage CPU temperature by making the CPU less available to processes that are using it intensely.

2. Is there any Task Manager Alternatives for Mac?

There are many activities which activity monitor cannot accomplish. To accomplish those task you need to install its alternatives. I will suggest you 2 best alternatives which you can install over your macbook :

1.iStat Menus

It is one of the most advance task manager available for MAC OS which offers many advance features like task manager with notifications based on CPU, network, disk, battery, support for hotkeys, reorderable drop-down menus, a compact notification center widget, and many more features. Its licensed version will cost around 18$ for new users and for older user it costs 12$ to renew its license.

2.XRG

XRG is very similar to Activity Monitor but it is an open source system monitor. XRG allows you to monitor our activities, battery statistics, disk usage etc. Additionally XRG displays stock market data, current weather as well. it is easy to use and its open source so it is completely free.

Final Tips

If you are new to Mac I’ll recommend you to keep activity monitor in your dock in order to access it conveniently.

If you get scared looking at the statistic at activity monitor or don’t understand what is going on activity monitor you don’t have to worry about anything.

That’s everything about the Task Manager on Mac!! If you have any doubts or questions, let us know in comments.

The key to perfect task management is astute planning and timely execution. Many a time, we fail to get the desired result due to either lack of structured formation or wrongly implementation of the planning. If you wish to handle your to-dos immaculately and derive the required result painlessly, you need to have the best task management apps for Mac. Dr fone registration code and email.

#1. Microsoft OneNote

As far as functionality is concerned, I put “Microsoft OneNote” right on top with the best in the business. Creating and managing tasks, to-dos, and notes is a breeze with this feature-rich app.

You can also add pictures, your PowerPoint doc or PDF, links, and web articles to your notes. Ideally, organize your notes to meet your workflow.
Tag your tasks to access them with ease and track all the things that matter a lot to you. It lets you sync your files with OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, and SharePoint.

Price: Free
Download

#2. nTask

nTask has done all the research on how to build a killer task management app. And for this reason, a single app brings all the cool features of different tools in one app. The developers have paid enough attention to its aesthetics to create an appealing task management software.

A flexible app on your Mac, you can quickly make checklists, collaborate with teams, arrange meetings, share files, and presents up-to-date Gantt Charts.

As a team leader, you can easily assign tasks and track those tasks from your desk. Integration with Slack is a notable feature of nTask. Another noteworthy feature is cloud integration.

Price: $3.99 per user, per month
Download

#3. Things 3

“Things 3” has always appealed me as a top-notch task manager. With this app, you can create a project for each of your goals and add the required steps to accomplish them.

You will be able to group your projects by areas of responsibility like “Family”, “Work”, or “Health”. Keep track of all of your goals so that you stay at the pace. View your calendar events alongside your to-dos and plan your time appropriately.

The app lets you create repeating to-dos for things you do more often. As it works with all the major features like Touch Bar, Today Widget, Calendars, Siri & Reminders, Share Extension, Handoff, and AppleScript, you will always be in complete control of your tasks.

And yes, the support for several languages like English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Traditional Chinese further enhances the reputation of Things 3.

Price: $49.99
Download

#4. Clear

Clear is dead simple and makes task management a painless experience! You can make separate lists to keep everything fully organized. Use various themes and tools to customize your lists.

To ensure you don’t fail to carry out any necessary thing in time, set reminders. Even better, you can take the full advantage of iCloud integration to sync your data across macOS and iOS devices.

Price: $9.99
Download Clear

#5. OmniFocus 3

“OmniFocus 3” provides you the desired flexibility to deal with all of your impending tasks. Hence, you can do more with less stress!

The app lets you keep all of your to-dos in one list, or you can use as multiple folders, projects, groups, and actions put everything in the right order.

You can select a fluid view that shows and hides fields or go for Custom Columns for scannable, tabular lists. Use the forecast perspective to check out your due items for each day alongside events from your calendar.

What’s more, OmniFocus 3 is compatible with multiple international languages including English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, etc.

Price: $39.99
Download

#6. Todoist

What I have found really appreciable in Todoist is the neat user-interface, which is primed for hassle-free task management. With this app, you can perfectly manage your tasks, sub-tasks, projects, and sub-projects.

Based on your need, you will be able to prioritize your tasks for the day or week ahead. You can keep an eye the deadlines with due dates and recurring dates.

Another notable feature of this app is the compatibility with multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Android and more. Furthermore, Todoist is integrated with several major services like Google Drive, Cloud Magic, Sunrise Calendar, Toggl, IFTTT, and Zapier.

Price: Free
Download

#7. Evernote

“Evernote” helps you stay organized by keeping all of your to-dos, notes or tasks in the perfect order. You can take notes, create to-do lists, and also save things you find online to catch up with them at your own pace.

You will be able to take notes in a wide range of formats like text, sketches, photos, audio, video, PDFs, web clippings, etc. Create personal checklists to never forget any necessary things.

Take the advantage of various tools to create agendas, write memos and prepare sensational presentations. You can also annotate documents with comments and thoughts during team meetings. Sync all of your data across your devices to keep them secure and easily accessible.

Price: Free
Download

#8. Simplenote

The thing that has made me want “Simplenote” is the range of easy-to-use features. If you don’t want to go for an expensive task manager but still wish to use a highly-user friendly app to assist you in getting your work done with the needed efficiency, you should keep it in consideration.

The app lets you effortlessly create notes, tasks, and to-dos. You can put all of your tasks in the perfect order and be able to track them. Furthermore, Simplenote lets you synchronize with the cloud to access them from any of your devices.

Price: Free
Download

#9. Any.do

“Any.do” provides a more streamlined user experience. Creating and managing task is quite upfront. The app comes with a clean UI that allows you to comfortably view and track your notes and tasks.

You can print, export and share your lists with friends. Sync your files with cloud services to keep them safe.

Though Any.do to-do is available for free, you can upgrade to the premium version to have unlimited access to all the important features like themes, files, and collaboration for $2.99 a month or $26.99 a year through.

Price: Free
Download

#10. GoodTask 3

GoodTask 3 is a fully featured task or project manager for Mac. The app syncs with the default Reminders and Calendars to let you manage them with ease.

You can quickly edit your tasks thanks to the bulk editing and deleting features. You will be able to duplicate, change due dates, and add tags to easily access any tasks.

The dark theme lets you comfortably use the app at night. And with Today widget support, you can keep track of your tasks more conveniently.

Price: $19.99
Download

That’s all for now!