Lessons in work-life balance from the war zone: If no one is dead or dying, go home.

If you work in an office, a retail store, a coffee shop, at home--this probably seems like a dramatic bit of work-life balance advice. It may resonate more with those of you who work in more precarious settings (e.g., emergency services, military). For me, it became my personal mantra during a one-year stint in Afghanistan. Where do you draw the line between routine, urgent, and emergency when life and death scenarios were common and days could easily run 18-20 hours, 7 days a week?