Make the most of early 2011 13" MPB

[baas]

Hi all. I'm making this thread because I want to make the most of my 2011 13" macbook pro. It's my primary computer and since I don't like the new line of MBP's (nor have the funds the buy a new one in the near future), I want to get the most out of my old laptop for the next years. I also like the keyboard better then the current generation MBP's and the backward compatibility (normal USB, SD card slot, DVD-drive).
I've upgraded the hard drive last year to a crucial MX300 525GB SSD with a fresh copy of Sierra and the latest ssd firmware.
I upgraded the RAM when I got the machine back in 2011 to 8GB of RAM, which is enough for my use (activity monitor always shows RAM pressure in the green zone).
The battery gives a warning that maintenance is required (Coconut 74% health with 544 cycles) but I used it meanly with the powercord attached, so I'm not going to replace that one.
So as far as I can see I've upgraded the hardware as far as I could/want. For the moment I'll stay on Sierra as I'm not running into any issues at all and read a lot about bugs and issues with High Sierra.
I use Safari as my mean browser (a relief after years of Chrome usage). Other apps I use regularly are mail, calendar, spotify, whatsapp, wunderlist, MS office and 1password so nothing spectacular.

Are there any other things, hardware, software or tweaks that I can do to maximise performance?

 

[pancakesrockyvalley]

Check the temperature on the machine, clean it, you can probably add newer thermal paste on the cpu.

 

[Maxx Power]

Could do 16 GB of RAM. It does support it, all the way to 1600 Mhz. That's what I'm using in my 2011 13" MBP. Although I use a virtual machine to host Windows, so the extra RAM is nice. You probably won't need it. The CPU is still plenty quick, but the GPU is showing its age with the UI.

 

[Audit13]

I have run High Sierra on an early 2011 13" and mid-2012 13" with no issues at all. I'm not sure that it was any faster than Sierra but it certainly wasn't any slower.