If you find it hard to keep track of the time while you’re using your Mac, then we’ve got the perfect tip for you. A lot of people don’t know that there is a time-announcing feature on macOS, which essentially means that Mac announces the current time at user-specific intervals.
Here’s the way to set it up:
- Open System Preferences by clicking the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen.
- Select “System Preferences” from the menu that appears.
- Click “Date & Time” in “System Preferences” in MacOS Catalina or earlier.
- Click “Dock & Menu Bar” on MacOS 11 Big Sur or later.
- If you are running Catalina or earlier, click the “Clock” tab in the “Date & Time” preferences.
- In Big Sur or later, scroll down the “Dock & Menu Bar” sidebar and click “Clock” button.
- When you have “Clock” preferences, place a checkmark next to “Announce Time.”
- Using the drop-down menu, you can customize it if you want your Mac to announce the hour, half-hour, or quarter-hour time.
- Example, if you select “On the quarter-hour,” you will hear the announcements at 2:00 p.m., 2:15 p.m., 2:30 p.m., and 2:45 p.m.
- The voice is going to say, “It’s two o’clock” or “It’s two forty-five.”
- Press the “Customize Voice” button to change the voice that speaks the time out loud.
- You can choose a male or female voice on the screen, and you can also adjust the speech rate.
- As long as you have the volume of your system turned up, you’ll hear the time you’ve spoken at the intervals you set.