I think Kitty Flanagan is terrific (I need to be honest here…I was going to say that ‘I love Kitty Flanagan, but I think ‘love’ should be reserved for special people in your life, who you actually know). Her book 488 Rules for Life: The Thankless Art of Being Correct1 is a cracking read. As a frequent flyer, I can so relate to Rule #100 ‘No Reclining on Short Flights’, Rule #109 ‘Keep walking when you hit the moving footway’, and Rule #112 ‘Stand back from the baggage carousel’.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs from NCIS is pretty cool too. I found this list of Gibbs’ rules when writing this article - he’d be both an inspiration and a nightmare to work for!
With some inspiration from Kitty and Gibbs, I realised that I have many rules that I live by or mantras that I repeat. My team at work have heard a number of my mantras and most seem to resonate in the workplace. I don’t know why but some of the same rules just draw an eye roll or a yawn from my kids (rules 2, 4 and 11 in particular).
Here are the first 11 rules I will share with you:
Rule #1. Hope is neither a strategy nor a plan.
Rule #2. Remove ‘would have’, ‘could have’ and ‘should have’ from your vocabulary.
Rule #3. Strive for excellence, not perfection.
Rule #4. Make your bed (or at least do something meaningful) every morning.
Rule #5. We do not work for ‘superiors’, we work for ‘seniors’.
Rule #6. Treat your cleaners, wait staff, receptionists and drivers with respect and dignity.
Rule #7. Learn the difference between ‘Reply’ and ‘Reply All’.
Rule #8. If you don’t know Why you are doing something, don’t do it.
Rule #9. Use apostrophes correctly.
Rule #10. Smile and say g'day.
Rule #11. If in doubt, choose a prime number.
I will explore a number of these rules over the coming posts. And as I realise (or have pointed out to me) more of the things I say or do regularly, I’ll add them to my list.
What are your rules? Which rule would you like me to explore in more detail?
Love rule 8.
Why are you writing? Still trying to figure out why I do.