spotlight slow after big sur update

I wanted to share a solution that worked for me after searching endlessly.

For me the issue was related to using Time Machine, so if you don't use Time Machine and back up to an external drive this won't help you per se. However, if you use an external drive in any fashion, you may want to try this to see if it helps.

I simply excluded my Time Machine external drive in Spotlight preferences. So I went to Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy and then clicked the + button in the bottom left. Then I added my external drive which I use for Time Machine backups. Almost instantly, my Spotlight lag was significantly reduced. It's just about like normal.

Just incase anyone is wondering, I am running a 2017 i5 Quad Core 27inch iMac with Fusion Drive.

I hope this helps someone out there!