I have been trying to improve the organization of my household for years. My wife and I have been using shared Google calendars for over a decade, but there are plenty of issues we could still improve. It was only minor challenges when it was just the two of us, but once we had a child, the systems we had started to show their limits.

I quit my job with the dream of building my own product, but I started without any particular ideas about what to build. It didn’t take long before I was considering working on this exact problem. Not only was it something I would benefit from, but it was also something I would find interesting, and could enjoy building and maintaining by myself.

My first urge was to start coding. I had a clear idea of what I wanted, and my head was spinning with potential designs. However, years of experience have taught me the importance of starting with solid research, so I started there instead.

The first thing I discovered was that there are already several products specifically for this problem. I tried a few out, and while they were not all fantastic, a couple of them were pretty good. There were some differences, but they mostly all had the same core features: a shared calendar, a shared task list, and a shared shopping list.

Many had been around for years. Some were free. The fact that none of them seemed to be particularly successful was my first hint that there was a problem.

My next step was putting together a survey and sending it out via my social networks. I got 67 responses. It’s certainly not enough for any kind of scientific validity, but it was enough to notice some trends. I found many people who had the same kinds of problems I did, and most wanted to use technology to help. Desire is normally a good thing for an entrepreneur to find, but there had to be a reason that quality products that had existed for years weren’t working.

In the survey, I also asked participants if they would participate in a one-on-one virtual interview in exchange for a gift card. Most agreed. I selected a handful, and set up some meetings.

One of the people I spoke with had used and abandoned two of the best products I’d tried. I asked him about it, and his answers are the reason I decided to abandon this problem. He thought technology was a great idea, but he couldn’t make his partner use it. He tried using it on his own, but it didn’t help, it just became another chore for him to manage.

I had originally approached this problem like business software, but there is a fundamental difference between a workplace and a family: it’s easier to motivate an employee than a member of your family. It’s not enough to make something that appeals to one member of the family, a successful app would have to be intrinsically motivating to everyone in the household. This is an extremely high bar to clear.

If I take a holistic view of household organization, I don’t think another piece of software is the most effective solution. A shared calendar is the main thing a family needs, and there are some good free options. If you need more, there are a few free apps already. If you want to stay offline, you can use a whiteboard, or even a piece of paper hung on the wall. All that leaves for me is to show people how to use these things, but writing a self-help book or teaching a class isn’t what I want to work on.

The interviews weren’t a complete waste, however. Some of the people I talked to had very organized households, and those conversations were insightful. Here were a few ideas that stood out to me:

  • Having a weekly planning ritual makes sure everyone knows what’s happening, and creates an opportunity to discuss issues. This seems to be especially helpful for larger households, households with multiple generations, and/or households with children old enough to contribute.
  • Planning week by week (as opposed to day-by-day) simplifies the process and makes family routines more predictable.
  • Having a calendar that everyone can see, be it through software or posted on the wall, gives everyone the same view of the week.
  • Assigning chores to specific people, and making them accountable for those chores, helps to make sure that those chores get done.

The exercise of researching the market, talking to people, and learning about the problem was interesting and enjoyable. It cost me some time and a bit of money, but I have no regrets. Maybe some of it will help with my next idea.