The scene: last week I installed 8 new apps, opened 2

In two years of freelancing, my phone has collected 200+ tool apps. Notion, TickTick, CapCut, Canva... Every time I see a "10 must-have apps" list, my fingers itch. My bookmark folder now has more entries than my actual projects.

I've made this mistake before: burning an entire day testing new tools while my main project sat untouched. Then last year I met Xiaolin, who runs a personal IP brand. She showed me her "tool trio" — literally 3 apps doing the work of 8.

What is this method? A "3-question filter"

I later built my own version. Every Sunday evening I spend 2 hours browsing curated columns like sspai's "PaiPing" or "Tool Picks" (sspai is a Chinese productivity publication I read religiously). When something catches my eye, I don't install it on the spot. I ask myself three questions first:

  • Is there a specific current task this could replace?
  • If I skip it, what's the smallest cost I'd actually pay?
  • If I really need it, am I willing to spend 1 hour learning it?

If I can't answer at least 2 of the 3, I pass. Now I filter out about 90% of "amazing tools" every week. The 3-5 that survive get a real 2-week trial — then keep or delete.

A-Mei, who runs a Xiaohongshu (RED) creator account, runs the same system. She told me her tool list never exceeds 15, and she can explain why each one earned its spot.

What does it cost to replicate this today?

Money: $0 (only free curated columns; build your own spreadsheet to track)

Time: 3 hours first time (build the spreadsheet + lock in your 3 questions), then 2 hours/week maintenance

Technical barrier: No code. A Notion table or Feishu (Lark) multi-view table works with drag-and-drop.

First step: Open the sspai app, search "PaiPing" or visit sspai.com, read the latest 5 issues, copy the names of any app that catches your eye into a spreadsheet, then run them through the three questions.

Advice by stage

Just starting out (0 clients): If you haven't taken on any work yet, I wouldn't touch new tools. Use the Notes app to log client needs — only think about systems once your first client shows up.

Got 1-2 clients: If your tool count is past 10 and you can't remember them all, I'd build that spreadsheet tonight. Start with "which 3 do I open most?" and reverse-engineer from there — cut 80%.

Scaling (3+ person small team): If you've got an assistant, we extended this filter to the team. Each person submits "candidate tool + 3-question answers," and we review them in the weekly standup. Cheaper than letting the assistant experiment randomly.

This method isn't for everyone. If your current 3 tools are working fine, no pressure to try this now — not over-optimizing is productivity too.