Every problem looks twice its size at 2 a.m. Don’t sign any decisions after midnight.

Late at night your judgement runs on low power and your worst thoughts get the room to themselves. Tiredness removes the part of you that keeps things in proportion, so a situation that looked manageable at six in the evening looks unsolvable at two in the morning. Nothing changed except the hour and your reserves.

Make the rule in advance. No big messages, no decisions and no conclusions about your whole life after midnight. Write it down, sleep, and read it in daylight. A fair amount of it will look different.