Axioms and conjectures

  1. Every “time-saving” tool eventually invents enough new work to fill the time it saved.
  2. Every jump in hardware results in software filling up the new capacity.
  3. Hardware creates headroom; software creates clutter.
  4. Efficiency never buys you leisure; it only raises the baseline of expectation.
  5. A faster computer doesn’t save you time; it just lets you wait for heavier programs.
  6. A wider highway doesn’t cure traffic; it just builds a bigger parking lot.
  7. Anything saved for a special occasion ends up outliving the occasion.
  8. A free weekend fills up faster than a busy one.
  9. Every “five-minute job” needs a trip to the hardware store.
  10. Nobody reads the instructions until after something breaks.
  11. Moving house is the only time you find out how much you own.
  12. Owning more things mostly means more things to look after.
  13. Advice is easiest to give about problems you don’t have.
  14. A plan is a list of things that haven’t gone wrong yet.
  15. “It’s a quick question” never is.
  16. The cheapest option is rarely the one that costs the least.
  17. Everyone is in a hurry until it’s time to decide.
  18. The more you pack, the more you end up buying there anyway.
  19. An early start buys more than a late night.
  20. Every shortcut charges its toll on the way back.
  21. The weather forecast is most reliable about yesterday.
  22. Every family has one person who keeps the photos and nobody who looks at them.
  23. People who say they’ll sleep on it have already decided.
  24. “Let’s grab coffee sometime” ends a conversation; it doesn’t start one.
  25. Whoever says they’re “not a details person” is telling you who will do the details.
  26. A free sample is the most expensive thing in the store.
  27. Most decisions are made by whoever writes them down.
  28. Group dinners are decided by whoever cares least where they eat.
  29. Nobody has ever regretted bringing a jacket.
  30. Nobody reads the second paragraph of an email.
  31. If a gadget needs a carrying case, you’ll stop carrying it.
  32. The longest part of any trip is the last hour.
  33. A shortcut you have to explain isn’t one.
  34. If you have to say it’s a bargain, it isn’t.
  35. The pet always picks the person who wanted it least.
  36. Talking about the weather is how strangers agree on something.
  37. Short meetings get shorter; long meetings get longer.