My Minimalist MacBook Setup, tools for Productivity and Simplicity

My Minimalist MacBook Setup, tools for Productivity and Simplicity

By Aude Falco on December 28, 2024 - 5 min read

My MacBook Air M3, The Perfect Balance of Portability and Power

If you’re looking for a lean and efficient workspace setup, I’m sharing my minimalist approach with a focus on tools that maximize productivity and simplicity. Whether you're coding, managing tasks, or controlling your Mac, this setup proves that you don’t need a lot to achieve great results. The core of my setup is the MacBook Air M3 (mid-2024) with 24GB of memory. Its combination of portability and power makes it ideal for my needs. I work with just one screen, which helps me focus by reducing distractions and avoiding multitasking. This approach forces me to stay intentional—one task at a time. My philosophy? Less is more. A minimalist setup is lean, simple, and portable, giving you everything you need without unnecessary clutter.

Code Editor: Cursor

My profile photo

For coding, I recently switched to Cursor, an AI-powered code editor, after years of using VS Code. Cursor feels like a partner in coding, offering helpful corrections and suggestions. While it’s incredibly useful, always double-check its input for accuracy.

Extensions for Cursor

Vim Emulator

Mastering Vim shortcuts was a challenge at first, but it’s been a game-changer. Vim allows you to navigate and edit your codebase effortlessly with just a few keystrokes. Once you learn the basics, it’s easy to stay in a flow state and improve productivity.

Todo+ and TODO Highlight.

These extensions help me manage tasks directly within my projects. With Todo+, I can: Create to-do lists. Mark tasks as started (with automatic start timestamps). Mark tasks as completed (with automatic end timestamps). This feature is invaluable for tracking time estimates and understanding how long tasks actually take, helping me refine my planning and productivity.

Raycast: Master Control for Mac

One tool I can’t live without is Raycast. It’s a powerful launcher that lets you control your entire Mac from one interface. Here’s what you can do with Raycast: Launch apps.Manage windows and system settings. Interact with apps like Cursor, ChatGPT, and Spotify through its extensive library of extensions—all from your keyboard. Raycast is my go-to tool for Mac productivity, offering a clean and intuitive interface that’s designed for efficiency.

Why Minimalism Works

This setup shows that simplicity leads to productivity. A minimalist workspace saves time, reduces distractions, and fosters better focus. My tools are straightforward, but they do the job exceptionally well. Whether it’s coding with the best MacBook tools for developers, managing tasks in projects, or using the Raycast launcher for productivity, this setup covers all the essentials.

A Blog by a woman in tech
A Blog by a woman in tech