A Comparison of Index Card Home Management Methods
Sidetracked Home Executives and HomeFlow
HomeFlow and S.H.E. are analog systems designed to lighten the mental load and make home management easier. Unlike many other methods, HomeFlow is not derivative of S.H.E..
Both methods utilize index cards, and are capable of managing both large and small homes. Both can be used to share housework between members of the household.
This page summarizes similarities and differences between HomeFlow and S.H.E..
Sidetracked Home Executives (S.H.E.)
Sidetracked Home Executives uses a calendar-based setup with 1-31 daily dividers and 12 monthly dividers. Cards (each with one task) are sorted into sections based on what day they ought to be done. Cards are color-coded based on frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, etc).
When a task is completed, its card is filed into the next day it will be done, based on its assigned frequency. Daily tasks are placed in the next day's section. Weekly tasks are put in the relevant day the following week. Monthly tasks are placed in the next month's section without being assigned a day (yet). These monthly tasks get distributed into days at the beginning of the month, during a planning session.
This can be an excellent method for people who are chronically disorganized. Having tasks broken down into bite-sized task cards helps people who struggle with task initiation.
People who might struggle with visual overwhelm, or the sheer number of bite-sized cards, might struggle with the S.H.E. method. It is also not suitable for people who don't have the time or capacity to maintain the detailed file system.
HomeFlow
HomeFlow relies on "looping" sections divided by general frequency. All the weekly-ish task cards are in one section together, and all the monthly task cards are in another section. When a task is completed, it is placed at the back of the section it came from. In this way, task cards are self-maintaining and do not require ongoing planning or organization.
Daily reminders are kept separate, on a list rather than a card. A person might have one daily reference list, or even two or three lists, with each list referring to a specific time of day (identified by if/then anchors).
This can be an excellent method for people who have unpredictable schedules or variable energy levels. It can also be a great method for caregivers and people who are "on call," who are not able to confidently plan ahead what they'll be able to accomplish. The one-card-at-a-time, looping method allows a person to do as much or as little as their circumstances allow in a day.
It can be a struggle for people who need the system to tell them exactly where the finish line is for housework each day. The flexible nature of the looping task cards leaves that decision up to the user.
