by Jackie Coleman and John Coleman

• Confine your work to particular times and locations.

Leave your work at the office. Make a rule to work from home only in exceptional circumstances, and keep work folders, computers, and notebooks at your desk. If you work at home, don’t bring your laptop to bed or use it on your couch. Work in an office or a specified workspace. Doing this will mentally help you shut off work when you leave the room, giving you an incentive to work as efficiently as possible rather than lingering over tasks.

• Develop good mobile device habits

Keep two separate mobile phones — one for work and one for personal use — and leave the work phone in an out-of-the-way place (or turned off) on nights and weekends. And never check your work email in the hour or two prior to bed. When on vacation, lock work-related mobile devices in the hotel safe and check them only at predetermined times.

• Establish a good support network

Develop a support network of friends and mentors who can help you manage your professional stress so that it isn’t the burden solely of your significant other.

• Have an end-of-work habit

Think about what helps you unwind, and find space in your schedule for this habit — particularly at the end of a long day at work — so that when you return home you’re free of the baggage that’s built up throughout the day.

• Create a third space

These spaces are different for everyone — quiet cafes, book clubs, trout streams, karate classes, poker nights — but they are important for maintaining our identities and our sense of peace. Third spaces mean no person runs from responsibility to responsibility without having time to breathe.