New Mac? Install These 5 Tools Before Your First Workday
A small setup for focused work, easier reading, and fewer daily annoyances.
A fresh Mac is a chance to be picky. My rule: an app has to remove a problem I already have before it earns a place.
These are the five I would start with, including a couple of Chrome extensions. You can try the browser tools before adding more desktop apps.
1. Kyte: keep the tutorial, block the rabbit hole
You open YouTube to fix one problem. The video ends; the recommendations have other plans.
Kyte lets you block youtube.com, then allow the exact tutorial URL you need. Other pages on that site stay blocked. The same approach works for one useful Reddit thread.
That is the feature I would try first: keep access to the page your work needs, with the rest of the site off-limits.
For distractions outside Chrome, the Mac app blocks selected apps and supports recurring focus schedules. You can use either product on its own.
The Chrome extension’s core blocking is free. Kyte for Mac costs $19 once. The extension’s optional Locked In Mode is a separate purchase.
Try Kyte’s free Chrome extension or get Kyte for Mac.
2. Cluevio AI: explain the sentence you’re stuck on
A dense article can turn into a copy-and-paste trip through another tab.
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Cluevio AI puts a ChatGPT answer beside the text you select. Ask for a simpler explanation, request an example, or follow up while keeping your place.
It uses your signed-in ChatGPT session. Selected text and nearby context go to ChatGPT when you ask; account limits apply.
3. Glide: let long pages scroll for you
Glide — Auto Scroll moves the page at a reading speed you choose. It also works inside scrolling panels in web apps such as Gmail and Notion.
Use it for a long article when you want to take your hand off the trackpad. Press Esc to stop.
4. Work Timer: remember to look away
Work Timer lives in the Mac menu bar. Set a work session and it nudges you every 20 minutes to look 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
Its countdowns pause when your Mac locks or sleeps, then resume when you return. There is no timer window to keep on your desk. The source and download are on GitHub.
5. Rectangle: put windows where you want them
Rectangle moves and resizes windows with keyboard shortcuts or by dragging them to screen edges. Put your browser on one side and your notes on the other.
The standard app is free and open source. Start there.
Bonus: set up Text Replacements
Open System Settings → Keyboard → Text Replacements. Give your email address or a frequently typed phrase a short trigger, such as ;mail. It expands in apps that support text replacement.
It is built into macOS, so this one needs no installation.
