Simple Rules

Simple Rules shows you how to navigate our incredibly complex world by learning the structure of and coming up with your own set of easy, clear-cut rules to follow for the most various situations in life.

There is a Frank Zappa song called “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow,” which has been ripped off and piggybacked on a lot, especially in comedy. A patch of yellow snow is likely the result of someone taking a pee, so you’d best avoid it, no matter how thirsty you are.

Aside from a good laugh, this quote is also a “simple rule.” If snow is yellow, don’t eat it. Period. Which brings us right to the first category Dr. Sull describes in the book:

Boundary rules. These help you make binary decisions. Based on the rule you can either say “yes” or “no.” For example, a simple rule burglars use is “Never break into a house with a car parked in front of it.” Prioritizing rules. When there’s more than one option, you can rank them, which is a very typical approach to simplify investing. For example, you could decide to save 10% of your income as cash, invest another 10% in stocks and use another 10% to buy books and get smarter. Stopping rules. Just like beginning a process can be made binary, so can deciding when to end it. Having a fixed cut-off point can simplify losing weight, for example. “Stop eating once you’re full” or “eat no more than one piece of candy per day” are a lot simpler to follow than complex diets.

What all of these have in common is that they help you decide what to do, thus making you more effective aka helping you do the right thing. The next three will help you with how you’re doing things.

Once you’ve become effective and are spending your time on the right things, it’s all about maximizing efficiency – doing things the best way possible. This is where another three types of rules come in. How-To Rules. These are supposed to make processes easier, yet not be so strict they’ll entirely quench your creativity. For example, sticking to a maximum of three sentences per paragraph when writing blog articles makes it simple to structure your posts, but doesn’t limit what you can write about. Coordination Rules. When humans interact, things get really tricky, especially in a group setting. But if you commit to, say, always holding the door for people or never responding to criticism with “You’re wrong,” you can master even complex conversations. Timing Rules. Lastly, when you do things matters too. Will you brush your teeth before breakfast or afterwards? Read in the morning or at…