Best Mac apps I use every day

Streamline your workflow and save time.

Jul 25, 2025, 7:32 AM

Raycast window on the MacBook desktop
Raycast window on the MacBook desktop

The default apps on your Mac can certainly help you get by. 

However, as a Mac user for years, I have found a few apps that make it difficult to return to the defaults. 

These apps save you clicks, offer power user features, and streamline your workflow. 


Raycast (Free and Paid)

Raycast window displaying actions related to ChatGPT

Raycast is a more powerful alternative to Spotlight, the search feature on macOS.

Besides launching apps and files, you can access clipboard history, control system settings, run actions from other apps, chat with AI, and more.

There are countless ways to extend the power of Raycast, with thousands of community extensions available for you to browse and install.

In short, the app will save you clicks and time.


Dia Browser (Beta)

Dia Browser showing a YouTube video with a sidebar summarizing it.

Dia is an AI browser that makes sense once you start using it.

You spend less time copying and pasting or switching between apps like ChatGPT when your AI assistant is always ready alongside your tabs.

You can simply open the chat or select the text on a tab, and the AI will have the context it needs. 

This includes proofreading your Google Docs, providing instant summaries of articles you're reading, translating a website in a foreign language, and more, all without leaving the tab.

In other words, you can chat directly with your tabs.


CleanShot X (Paid)

CleanShot X Annotation Tool

CleanShot X is the perfect screenshot tool for anyone who often shares content from their screen.

It includes useful features such as annotation tools for text, arrows, and numbering, scrolling capture to capture entire scrollable content like websites, and a background tool to add colored backgrounds and padding for social media sharing.

It feels impossible to return to the default screenshot tool after using CleanShot.


LookAway (Paid)

LookAway screen break

LookAway is a smart break reminder app.

It’s all about helping you build better health habits, such as taking eye breaks, sitting upright, and blinking at regular intervals.

What makes it stand out is that it is beautifully and thoughtfully built.

There are neatly placed reminders and a countdown when you are approaching the start of your break. Plus, there’s automatic pausing during meetings or when doing screen recordings. 

During an eye break, LookAway takes over the front of your screen, blurring the content behind and prompting you to take a well-deserved break.


Notion (Free and Paid)

Notion Customize Layout

Notion can be many things, your to-do list, book notes, personal CRM, content calendar, and more.

Putting it all together, I like to call Notion my "Second Brain." A term popularized by Tiago Forte through his course and book, Building a Second Brain.

A Second Brain is a system for offloading, organizing, and retrieving information.

But why did I choose to use Notion over simpler alternatives out there?

Most productivity and note-taking tools are pre-built as one-size-fits-all solutions to cater to the masses. 

On the other hand, Notion is like a blank canvas that can be molded to suit your needs. Not to create a perfect system, but one that works for you.

© 2022-2025 Easlo. All rights reserved.

© 2022-2025 Easlo. All rights reserved.

© 2022-2025 Easlo. All rights reserved.