I have been using macOS for the better part of a decade, and over that time I’ve found several little helper apps that I don’t think I could function without. I also recommend them to people frequently, so I compiled a list for faster linking.

Meetings

• Meeter – Actionable alerts that open the meeting in the native app, no matter which one it is (Zoom, Google, WebEx, Blue Jeans, etc)
• Muzzle – Auto-enable Do Not Disturb mode when initiating screen sharing, regardless of meeting app
• Shush – Push-to-Talk app mutes your microphone unless you’re holding down the function key
• ToothFairy – macOS is surprisingly terrible for connecting BlueTooth audio devices. ToothFairy makes it much better

System

• Alfred – The best Spotlight app launcher replacement and more
• Bartender – Declutter your system tray and hide all these silly little apps by default
• Divvy – macOS is also awful at window management. Divvy addresses that with hotkeys and click&drag options. I suspect there are better alternatives. Recommendations welcome!

Other

• Rocket – System-wide Slack-style :emoji:
• Choosy – Set Choosy as your default browser, and forward links to other browsers using custom rules. (For example: work links go to one browser, personal links to another)
• Fantastical – The best calendar-in-system-tray app I’ve seen. Also includes functionality similar to Meeter, although I prefer Meeter for joining meetings
• Carrot Weather – The best weather app for iOS is also pretty good on macOS