The 4 to 1 rule

The 4 to 1 rule. The 4 to 1 rule for managers helps maintain good employee relations. This rule of thumb says make four positive reinforcements to an employee for every instance of corrective feedback.
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The indoor air rule of thumb

The indoor air rule of thumb. Indoor plants are a natural air cleaner and conditioner. To help prevent indoor air pollution, a rule of thumb says place and maintain one plant for every ten square yards of floor space.
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The traffic rule of thumb

The traffic rule of thumb. The typical American spends approximately 34 hours a year in traffic. A rule of thumb within the transportation industry says every minute of blocked traffic due to an incident or accident generates four additional minutes of traffic congestion.
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The purchase versus lease rule of thumb

The purchase versus lease rule of thumb. The rule of thumb for buying versus leasing a car says buying a new car always makes better economic sense. There are two exceptions to this rule: if you trade in your car every two to three years, or if you use your auto for your business.
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The "Gettysburg" rule of thumb

The "Gettysburg" rule of thumb. Drafting a lengthy email is a signal that a phone call or face-to-face conversation might be the better way to go. The "Gettysburg" rule of thumb for email says the body of an email should have fewer words than the Gettysburg Address.
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The 1 in 5 rule of thumb

The 1 in 5 rule of thumb. Americans move because of marriage, education, divorce, jobs, retirement and other reasons. A real estate rule of thumb says the average American changes their residence, on average, once every five years.
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The PC replacement rule of thumb

The PC replacement rule of thumb. A general rule of thumb for personal computers says to replace them after thirty-six months and keep the same operating system installed for its entire life.
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The competence rule of thumb

The competence rule of thumb. A good communication rule of thumb says unexpressed competence appears much the same as incompetence.
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The pet ownership rule of thumb

The pet ownership rule of thumb. According to national surveys, about 63% of all American households have at least one pet. A rule of thumb for pet ownership says pets are like vacations, they cost twice as much as planned.
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The credit card balance rule of thumb

The credit card balance rule of thumb. Credit cards provide short term financing with relatively low interest rates. A personal finance rule of thumb says your total credit card balance should be less than 5% of your gross annual income.
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The community ownership rule of thumb

The community ownership rule of thumb. Public and common land is land owned by the people of a government jurisdiction such as a country, state or city. A property ownership rule of thumb says, when everybody owns it, nobody takes care of it.
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Aphorisms

Aphorisms. Aphorisms are sayings that offer rule-of-thumb advice on how to manage one's life. For example, "lost time is never found again" and "that which does not kill us makes us stronger."
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The last minute rule of thumb

The last minute rule of thumb. "If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would ever get done," suggests the time management rule of thumb for procrastinators.
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The 1-99 Internet rule of thumb

The 1-99 Internet rule of thumb. There are 20 billion web pages produced by 70 million web sites on the Internet. The 1-99 rule of thumb says 1% of the Internet population creates most of its content while the remaining 99% consumes it.
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The "five finger" rule of thumb

The "five finger" rule of thumb. Use the "five finger" rule of thumb to find the appropriate book for a child. Read a page from the book aloud, holding up one finger for each word the child does not know. Five fingers up suggest the book is too difficult.
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Dogs of the Dow

The "Dogs of the Dow" rule of thumb. There are a multitude of strategies for buying and selling stocks and building a great portfolio. The "Dogs of the Dow" investment rule of thumb says invest in the ten highest dividend-yielding stocks of the thirty in the Dow Jones Industrial index.
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The collision coverage rule of thumb

The collision coverage rule of thumb. Collision insurance coverage pays for damage caused to your vehicle in an automobile accident. A good insurance rule of thumb says once your auto’s value drops below $3000, stop the collision coverage on the policy and save the extra premium amount.
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The slim clothing rule of thumb

The slim clothing rule of thumb. There are several methods to help you look slimmer without dieting and exercising. One fashion rule of thumb says wearing black or dark color clothing will minimize fullness.
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The walker’s rule of thumb

The walker’s rule of thumb. A pedometer is a pager-sized device worn on your belt that records walking distance based on your body's movement. For gauging walk distance, a general rule of thumb says a typical person walks about two miles per hour.
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The landscape rule of thumb

The landscape rule of thumb. A real estate rule of thumb says the average cost to landscape a new home is about 10% to 15% of the home's value. Studies show that high quality landscaping can add from 7% and 15% to a home's value at sale time.
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The home purchase of thumb

The home purchase of thumb. How long do you plan to live in the home you purchased? A simple rule of thumb says buy a home if you will be in the home long enough for price appreciation to cover all transaction costs. Otherwise, rent the home.
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The dog age rule of thumb

The dog age rule of thumb. There are different methods for calculating a dog’s age in human years. A canine rule of thumb says one dog year is equal to seven human years. Thus, a 3-year old dog is about 21 human years.
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The wine taster’s rule of thumb

The wine taster’s rule of thumb. The wine tasters rule of thumb says for best results put a red wine in the fridge for ten minutes, and take a white wine out for ten minutes, before opening.
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The college football rule of thumb

The college football rule of thumb. During the era of the flying wedge and wishbone offense, a common college football rule of thumb said a college football team would lose one game for each freshman it started.
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The manager’s rule of thumb

The manager’s rule of thumb. Casey Stengel was known for his comic inspiration during his 25 years as a major league manager. Among his other quotes, Stengel’s rule of thumb for how to be an effective manager says, “Keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided about you.
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The 1,000 to 1 farming rule of thumb

The 1,000 to 1 farming rule of thumb. All crops require water to grow, some more than others. An agriculture rule of thumb says it takes one thousand tons of water to produce one ton of grain. Ten inches of rain over one acre equals about 1,000 tons of water.
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The college rule of thumb

The college rule of thumb. The college inflation rate refers to the annual increase in college tuition and fees, similar to the way that the general inflation rate refers to the annual increase in the cost of living. As a general rule of thumb, the college inflation rate increases at about twice the general inflation rate.
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The stock rule of thumb

The stock rule of thumb. Stocks are generally more risky than bonds. A financial planning rule of thumb says your current percentage of stocks versus bonds should be one hundred minus your age. For example, at age 30 your portfolio should be 70% stocks versus 30% bonds.
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