Styles vary for sure.  I for one hate outlines.  I never work from one and I never will.  Even back in school when an outline was required I'd write my story/report/whatever first then go back and do the outline.  My thinking is not that linear or that regimented when I write - something that I find hysterical because in almost every other aspect of my life I am exactly that way.

I do however USE a form of outline as a way to track my ideas once I've got a chunk of the story written.  It gets created once I reach a point where I'm sick of scrolling back and forth to find something in the story.  I then keep writing and as I reach an important concept I'll drop it into the outline.  It ends up resembling more of a bullet-point list than an actual outline.

I too have found the 3x5 card concept works once I'm past the first edit stage.  It helps me identify concepts that I may have left undeveloped and lets me see at a glance how a story might unfold if I move scenes/beats around.

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