Close unused VS Code windows when you have too many open
If like me you tend to never close VS Code windows you'll eventually end up with hundreds of tabs. This can really slow things down, more than you might think. While you're running a slow Angular build VSCode will be running through the same files at the same time and compiling code in tabs you haven't looked at in a month.
When my laptop fans are going crazy (and my Angular build is slow), closing all VS Code tabs has very often made a huge difference.
I'd also recommend adding your work directory into exclusions for your virus checking software (provided you trust all the code).
Edit: Originally started with this more generic statement:
Don't forget to always keep a close eye on what else your machine is doing and monitor overall CPU usage.