Find your flow

In the spirit of Optimistic October, let's look at the intertwined issues of burnout and work-life balance from their starting points, when they're easiest to control and keep in check.

Burnout is recognized by the World Health Organization as a syndrome brought on by chronic workplace stress, resulting in feelings of exhaustion, mental distance or cynicism, and reduced efficacy. Healing from burnout can be hard, so it pays to establish good balance early on, before the problem develops.

There's no single formula for work-life balance, though - priorities can differ depending on your age, your family situation and where you are in your career. So for best results, pay attention to your own needs, habits and energy levels.

How did you feel, for instance, when you volunteered to stay late and help a colleague? If you had misgivings, and you miss the time you gave up, it's better to set boundaries: "I'm glad I was able to assist," you could say, "but I can't do it regularly. Can we find someone else to help you out next time?"

Do you find yourself putting off social plans "just till I'm through this bad stretch at work" - but new bad stretches keep appearing? Work can expand to fill all your time if you let it, so the better tactic, organizational experts advise, is to put non-work activities on the schedule, sometimes even months in advance, so you can adapt to make the time when it comes.

Are worries about work creeping into your time at home? Earlier this year, California lawmakers proposed a bill that would prohibit employers from asking employees to respond to email outside work hours. The letter of the law might be far-fetched, but you can follow the spirit of it by setting your own rules: No checking your work email after dinner, for example.

Even at work, you can make that time calmer by avoiding multitasking - more appropriately called "task switching," according to cognitive scientists. You're not actually doing two things simultaneously, but simply toggling back and forth, and the result is both exhausting and ineffective. The better approach is to group similar tasks together (a practice known as time blocking), such as answering all emails in one go, at set times each day.

For highest-quality mono-tasking, especially for work that requires mental "flow," try the Pomodoro technique: Set a timer for 25 minutes and work on only one task; use the next 5 minutes to handle other, tiny tasks; then go another 25 minutes. As you build up your practice, you may choose longer stretches of focus. Either way, your focus will improve and so will your satisfaction with your work - which is one of the best antidotes to burnout in the long run.