Before shortening sail (i.e. furling the jib), I depower by reducing mast rotation, increasing main downhaul and outhaul, and easing the main traveler. I can also pull out the barber outhaul. Back when I had a magic box on my forestay, I'd pull that tight too.

Derotating the mast spoils the entry to the mainsail a little. Increasing downhaul and outhaul flattens the sail and moves the camber forward. Dropping the traveler and keeping the mainsheet tight maintains a flatter sail shape. Pulling the jib clew out with the barber hauler opens up the slot, giving the main less drive. A tight forestay makes the jib flatter and keeps camber forward.

These steps depower with minimum loss of pointing ability, without excess drag, and without inducing too much helm. Of course, when gusts hit, or when the wind gets too strong, you have to let the mainsheet out. That twists the sail and dumps air off the top.

When all else is not enough, then I furl the jib. That unbalances the sailplan and yields more weather helm. It also makes the boat hard to tack in heavy wind. I rarely race without a jib. When the wind gets that high, everybody quits and goes in.