Three seconds between reading and replying can save you three weeks of awkward apologizing.

The gap between reading something and replying is where most of the damage gets prevented. Your first reaction is fast, confident and calibrated to a message you have half understood, and once sent it cannot be unsent. A few seconds is usually enough for the second, more accurate reading to arrive.

Build in the pause mechanically rather than relying on self-control. Put the phone down, read it once more, then answer. On anything heated, write the reply and wait an hour before sending, because the version you send after that hour is almost always the one you would have preferred.