The Ultimate Guide To Creating A Whiteboard Chore Chart That Works

Household chores are no different than the deliverables you are responsible for at work: they have to be done, someone is checking to make sure they get done, and there has to be a reliable method for guaranteeing jobs are followed through.

For adults, that method comes in the form of quarterly reports, annual reviews, and meetings. Children on the other hand typically don’t have a formal means of tracking their daily responsibilities, leaving parents with an unreliable method for tracking their list of household duties.

More often than not, your children want to help—whether it’s because they believe there’s something in it for them, or due to the kindness of their hearts is an entirely different matter. In an effort to help track chores with a reliable solution, many parents have began implementing whiteboard chore charts into their homes. Whiteboard charts make tracking and assigning chores simple, erasing any doubt of chore assignments and the payment structure that may (or may not) follow suit.

With over 50 years experience in developing custom whiteboards built around the sole purpose of tracking and measuring data, we thought we’d apply some of our expert knowledge into developing the most effective dry erase chore chart imaginable. Here’s what will work best in your home:

Start With Structure
Just like any project life throws your way, having some degree of structure or guidelines can go a long way. We recommend creating the layout of your chore chart with the same intent: we created our chore chart by dividing our whiteboard into 5 vertical and 6 horizontal slices using our PreciseLine^® whiteboard tape. Tasks can be presented in order along the top of the dry erase board, while chores can be listed down the left-hand side. However, if the chores in your house change on a weekly basis, you can also allocate the left-hand side of the chart to your children, filling in completed jobs along the way. The goal is to highlight each individual day of the week and the daily chores you wish to have completed. Regardless of how you choose to set up your board at home, make sure everyone has come to an agreement and understanding for your chore chart set up. There’s no better way to set your chart up for failure than by creating a visual that is too complicated!

Then Add Set Up
Performance trackers should be easily accessible regardless of purpose, style, or platform. That’s why many companies that purchase our performance trackers choose to display their whiteboard in an area that’s heavily populated, providing employees with the opportunity to know what’s happening at all times. We like to think that you should take the same approach with your chore chart. Is there a place in your house where people naturally gather? Like a kitchen or laundry room? Making your chore chart readily accessible for everyone in the home will make it easy to review what gets done.

Finish With A Self-Sufficient Motivator
But finding a location is only half the battle when it comes to setting up the perfect dry erase chore chart. After all, a chore chart is nothing without a consistent means of recording what is actually being completed. For our own chore chart, we chose to use Magnatag’s own green/red double-sided magnets to indicate whether or not a chore has been completed. Each chore begins with the red side of the magnet facing out; once a chore has been completed, the magnet can be flipped to display the green color. Magnets are an excellent tool for encouraging engagement, as children can take pride in visualizing and ‘completing’ an entire week.

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If you’re interested in creating a magnetic dry erase chore chart of your own, visit our website to browse our collection of whiteboard supplies.