When your Mac's disk usage is high, it can slow down your computer and make it difficult to complete tasks. To identify what's causing the high disk usage, you'll need to open up Activity Monitor on your Mac.

Activity Monitor is a built-in utility that provides real-time information about your Mac's system resources, including CPU usage, memory usage, energy usage, disk usage, and network activity. By paying close attention to these statistics, you can troubleshoot issues and optimize your Mac's performance.

To open Activity Monitor, go to Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor. Once open, click on the 'Disk' tab at the top of the window to view a list of processes that are using your disk. You'll see a graph showing real-time disk usage, as well as columns displaying information such as 'Data read/sec' and 'Data written/sec.'

Pay special attention to these statistics, as they can help you identify which apps or processes are causing high disk usage. For example, if you're running a resource-intensive app like video editing software, you may see high disk activity as it writes data to your hard drive.

In addition to the Disk tab, Activity Monitor also offers other views that can help you troubleshoot issues. The 'Network' tab shows real-time network activity, while the 'Memory' tab displays information about memory usage and pressure. By clicking on these tabs, you can quickly identify which apps or processes are using up system resources.

To customize your view of Activity Monitor, click on the 'View' menu at the top of the window and select 'Update Frequency.' You can choose from a range of update frequencies, including every 5 seconds, to help you monitor system activity in real-time.

By regularly checking Activity Monitor and paying attention to disk usage, memory pressure, and other system statistics, you can identify and troubleshoot issues that may be slowing down your Mac. Remember to quit any apps or processes that are using up system resources unnecessarily, as this can help improve overall performance.

Open up activity monitor mac