My secret work weapon is sleep. I've never suffered from an absence of energy, or at least not one which exercise or a stiff dose of coffee couldn't remedy.
The 'ready-fire-aim' mentality is all too easy to acquire in the corporate world. It is part of the desire to prove one's usefulness and intellect through a surfeit of activity.
Reflection, on the other hand, is a scarce commodity, and sleep is an excellent way to ensure those half-baked impulses, reactions and outbreaks of verbal diarrhoea are moderated by some sense of perspective.
My former boss, the magical Andy Haste, ex-RSA chief executive, succeeded where others had failed in getting me to pause for thought.
I found the best way to achieve this was to develop a deeper respect for my duvet.
So take some old-fashioned advice and 'sleep on it' next time you are faced with something outrageous, awkward or complicated.