Pausing before depletion is smarter than recovering after breakdown.

Stopping early costs a little and stopping late costs a great deal. A pause taken while you still have something left returns you quickly; a stop forced by depletion takes weeks, arrives at the worst moment, and comes with the mess made by the decisions you were making while running on nothing.

Learn what your own early signals are. Shorter temper, worse sleep, a reluctance to answer messages. Treat the first one you notice as the instruction rather than waiting for the third.