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. More Rules 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. More Rules 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. More Rules 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. More Rules 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. More Rules 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. More Rules 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. More Rules of Thumb
The competence rule of thumb. A good communication rule of thumb says unexpressed competence appears much the same as incompetence. More Rules 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. More Rules 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. More Rules 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. More Rules of Thumb
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." More Rules 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. More Rules 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. More Rules 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. More Rules of Thumb
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. More Rules 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. More Rules 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. More Rules 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. More Rules 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. More Rules 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. More Rules 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. More Rules 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. More Rules of Thumb