Anthony Bush’s Blog

I’m annoyed by the inability to customize Time Machine’s schedule: I really don’t want hourly backups while I’m trying to use my machine. I also don’t care for changing the interval as many other posts and tips suggest because that does not guarantee a consistent time-of-day to run.

There’s an easy solution that does not require any additional software. First, turn off Time Machine backups (after you have selected a backup disk). Then just add your own schedule(s) to cron. For example, I schedule mine to run every day at 2 AM:

0 2 * * * /System/Library/CoreServices/backupd.bundle/Contents/Resources/backupd-helper

If you’re unfamiliar with how to configure cron, you may wish to have a look at Using the ‘cron’ scheduler.

Divide workspaces by projects, not applications.

I use web browsers, terminals, finder windows, and code editors for my software engineering projects.

I also use applications that are project independent and should stay out of the way when not needed yet remain easily accessible without having to switch through a bunch of “spaces.” I consider Mail and iTunes to be such applications. These tend to be applications that only use one window and as a result they are easily managed just by using the Dock and Command-Tab features in Mac OS X.

My setup can be accomplished with two quick steps:

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