Rule of Five

Rules are like umbrella spokes. You notice them only when one is missing. Rule of Five is a spoke worth keeping.

The rule protects you from your future self — the fellow who will be tired, hungry, and full of reasons to make an exception. Rules exist for the days when reasons are cheap.

It is worth keeping in your pocket not because it is always right, but because it is always available. A tool you carry beats a perfect tool you left at home.

The kirana shop opens at eight sharp, festival or fever. Ask the owner his secret and he will point at the shutter, not at his willpower. Systems outlast moods.

Time is the one currency the Reserve Bank does not print more of. Carry it lightly. Ideas, like umbrellas, are useful only when actually opened.