Last week I installed 5 new apps, kept only 2

I spend 1 hour every Sunday browsing the App Store, installing anything that catches my eye. This week I installed 5, by Friday I had only 2 left.

When I first started freelancing, I'd install 10 new tools a week and end up using zero of them. An installed-but-unused tool is the same as not having it. So my rule now is: "Will I use this 3+ times this week?" If yes, keep. If no, delete. Only the ones that truly click stay.

The two tools I kept this week

1. Granola (AI meeting notes)

I used to use Otter.ai to transcribe meetings, but Otter's Chinese recognition kept messing up. Granola was recommended by my buddy A Qiang — he's a freelance designer in Shenzhen. Last week he did a 1-hour video call with a client, and Granola auto-generated "3 points the client cares about + 2 things I need to do next." He told me: "One glance and I know the next step." Chinese recognition beats Otter, though English is still smoother. If you have lots of English-speaking clients, switching from Otter is worth it.

I got stuck on this too: When I first installed Granola, my meeting had no sound. I spent 20 minutes figuring out I had to enable both "microphone permission" AND "screen recording permission." Turn both on in Settings before your first meeting.

2. Wispr Flow (voice typing)

I used to use WeChat's built-in voice-to-text, and the accuracy made me want to throw my phone. Wispr Flow was recommended by my wife — she runs a WeChat public account. She says all her article drafts now come from speaking and letting Wispr transcribe. After a week of using it, replying to messages and writing docs is finally keyboard-free.

The 3 I deleted this week:

  • Some app claiming "AI writes viral Xiaohongshu posts" — output was bland as cardboard, deleted
  • A "super clipboard" — basically the same as the system one, why bother
  • A time-blocking app — 5 taps just to fill in one task, efficiency tool turned into a time black hole

Here's how to replicate my setup

Cost: Granola's free tier is enough, Pro is $14/month; Wispr Flow's free tier gives 2,000 words/day, Pro is $8/month. Together $22/month (about 160 RMB), cheaper than hiring an assistant.

Time: 30 minutes to figure out each app, 1 hour total. Chinese users might need 2–3 tries to get comfortable, so budget 2 hours.

Technical barrier: Zero. Download the app, log in, open and use. No coding needed.

First step: Open App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android), search "Granola" and "Wispr Flow," download, log in. Enable microphone and screen recording permissions before first use.

Advice by stage

If you're just starting out (no clients or zero revenue): I'd skip installing these for now. Wait until you land your first client, have your first video call, or want to dictate your first piece of copy. Tools serve needs, not the other way around.

If you have 1–2 steady clients: I'd install Granola. One meeting saves 30 minutes of note-taking — that's 2 extra hours a month to actually do business.

If you're scaling (3+ clients / team of 2–5): Install both. Wispr Flow for dictating emails and docs; Granola for the whole team so new hires can quickly catch up on what clients have discussed.

Final thought: more apps isn't better. My phone only has 23 apps now, and every time I install one I ask myself "Will I use it this week?" If the answer is "probably not," it doesn't get installed.