Up to this point, we’ve talked about something important:

Your computer probably isn’t broken.

It’s dealing with more than it should.

But that raises a fair question:

“How do I actually see that?”

Most people never look under the hood—not because they can’t, but because it feels too technical.

The good news is, you don’t need to understand everything.

You just need to know where to look… and what stands out.

Let’s start with a simple mindset

You’re not trying to diagnose every detail.

You’re just asking:

• What’s running right now?
• What’s using the most resources?
• Does anything look… excessive?

That’s it.

On Windows:

Open Task Manager

The quickest way:

• Press Ctrl+Shift+esc

OR

• Right-click the Start button
• Click Task Manager

(If it opens in a small view, click “More details”)

What to look for

You’ll see a list of apps and background processes.

Focus on the columns:

• CPU (processing power)
• Memory (RAM usage)
• Disk (storage activity)

You don’t need exact numbers.

Just look for:

• Anything consistently near the top
• Anything using a surprisingly high percentage
• Apps you don’t recognize running in the background

Hint: Clicking on the column name sorts by that column. For example, clicking on CPU will sort the processes by CPU use. The arrow that appears on the column shows which direction you are sorting by. Click the column again to reverse the sort direction.

Check Startup Apps

In Task Manager, click the Startup tab.

This shows what runs when your computer turns on.

Ask yourself:

• Do I actually need this every time I start my computer?

Most people are surprised by how long this list is.

On Mac:

Open Activity Monitor

• Open Spotlight (press Command + Space)
• Type Activity Monitor
• Press Enter

What to look for

At the top, you’ll see tabs like:

• CPU
• Memory
• Energy

Start with CPU and Memory.

You’re looking for:

• Apps using a lot of resources
• Things running that you didn’t expect
• Processes that stay near the top

Hint: Just like in Windows, clicking on the column name sorts by column. An Arrow show sort direction, and clicking again on the column changes the sort direction

Again—you’re not trying to analyze everything.

Just notice patterns.

Check Login Items

• Open System Settings
• Go to General → Login Items

This shows what starts automatically when you log in.

Just like Windows, this list often grows over time without you realizing it.

What most people discover

This is usually the moment things click.

You open one of these tools and realize:

• “I didn’t know all of this was running.”
• “Why is this app using so much?”
• “I haven’t used that in months.”

And suddenly, the idea of “overwhelmed” becomes visible.

A quick reality check

Seeing a lot of activity doesn’t mean something is wrong.

Modern systems are active by design.

But there’s a difference between:

• Normal background activity
• And a system that’s juggling too much at once

What you’re looking for is excess.

What we’ll do next

Tomorrow, we’ll take this one step further.

Not by installing anything new—but by making a few simple changes that actually reduce that load.

Nothing aggressive. Nothing risky.

Just small adjustments that help your system breathe again.

If you checked your system while reading this, you probably saw at least one thing that surprised you.

That’s a good sign.

It means you’re starting to see what your computer is dealing with—and that’s the first step to fixing it.