It takes forever to load a program or it crashes once you do

For the programs you do use, check to see if there are updates. These will either be found in the program's help section, or if it's a program you got from the Windows or Mac App store, check there for updates.

 Updated software is likely to have bugs fixed, bugs that may slow your PC or Mac down with a memory leak, or an inefficiency that has come to light after the last update. Besides, updated software often comes with new features that make the program better than when you first downloaded it.