Are you sharing the load fairly?
Methodology
MET-Based
Metabolic equivalents from exercise science research
Privacy
100% Local
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Cost
Free Forever
No sign-up, no subscription, no hidden fees.
How It Works
Not all hours are equal
168
Hours per week
Everyone has 168 hours per week. But an hour of scrubbing floors (3.8 METs) demands far more from your body than an hour of meal planning (1.5 METs). An hour coordinating family schedules and appointments requires sustained mental focus that leaves you drained.
This audit doesn't just count hours—it weights them by effort, both physical and cognitive, to reveal your household's true balance.
Physical Effort
We use Metabolic Equivalents (METs) from exercise science. 1 MET = resting quietly. Tasks above 2.3 METs receive multipliers to reflect their higher physical cost.
Range: 1.0× – 2.6× multiplier
Cognitive Effort
Invisible labor like meal planning, scheduling, and project management creates mental drain even when physically light. We apply cognitive multipliers to tasks requiring anticipation and monitoring.
Range: 1.3× – 1.5× multiplier
Baseline
Enter your work hours, sleep, and personal care time. This defines your available hours for household labor.
Task Audit
Track monthly hours across 50+ household tasks. The calculator converts to weekly and applies effort multipliers.
Results
See your weighted hours, effort split, and true rest—the leisure time left after accounting for household burden.
The Science
Research behind the multipliers
Physical Effort: Metabolic Equivalents (METs)
METs measure the energy cost of physical activities relative to rest. Our multipliers are derived from the Compendium of Physical Activities, a peer-reviewed reference standard that catalogs MET values for hundreds of activities.
SOURCE
Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Herrmann SD, et al. (2011). 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities: a second update of codes and MET values. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 43(8):1575-1581.
Folding laundry, dishes
Vacuuming, cooking complex meals
Raking, mowing, weeding
Scrubbing floors, moving furniture
Cognitive Effort: Invisible Labor
Research by sociologist Allison Daminger identified four cognitive phases of household management: anticipation, identification, decision-making, and monitoring.
SOURCE
Daminger, A. (2019). The cognitive dimension of household labor. American Sociological Review, 84(4):609-633.
Active Thinking · 1.3×
Research, judgment, sustained attention (bills, gift shopping, homework help)
Invisible Management · 1.5×
Anticipation, delegation, monitoring (meal planning, insurance, calendars)
Why Combine Physical & Cognitive?
Some tasks are purely physical (mowing), some purely cognitive (taxes), and some are both (grocery shopping with a list you had to create).
We take the higher of the two multipliers to capture the dominant burden, ensuring no task is underweighted.
FAQ
Common questions
Absolutely. All calculations happen in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server, stored in a database, or tracked. Your audit data never leaves your device.
Many household tasks (like deep cleaning, yard work, or taxes) happen irregularly. Monthly tracking captures these more accurately. The calculator converts everything to weekly hours for comparison.
We've included 50+ common tasks across six categories. If something is missing, use the closest equivalent. For example, "organizing garage" might map to "minor repairs" or "moving furniture" depending on the physical effort.
The physical multipliers are based on peer-reviewed MET values from exercise science. Cognitive multipliers are informed by research on invisible labor but are more subjective. We include a ±10% confidence band to account for individual variation.
There's no universal target—every household is different. A leisure gap under 5 hours/week suggests balance. Over 10 hours suggests one partner bears significantly more burden and may benefit from redistribution.
Currently, the audit is designed for two-partner households. For multi-generational or shared living situations, you might need to adapt the baseline calculations or run multiple pairwise audits.
Ready to understand your workload?
Start your free analysis now. No sign-up required, completely private, takes 10-15 minutes.