a rule of thumb

regla general, regla empírica

• As a rule of thumb, code reviews should take 30-60 minutes.
• A good rule of thumb is to water your plants once a week.
• As a rule of thumb, always save 20% of your income for emergencies.

Commonly used in English to refer to a practical guideline based on experience, especially when precise measurements aren't needed. It's informal and found in both speech and writing, though more often in everyday conversation.

Spanish speakers might say 'a general rule' or 'an empirical rule', which are not idiomatic in English. It's important to use the complete expression 'a rule of thumb' to sound natural.

• the bottom line
  lo más importante, lo esencial
• more often than not
  más a menudo que no, la mayoría de las veces
• in the pipeline
  en proceso, en preparación
• by no means
  de ninguna manera, en absoluto