I received one of my most valuable and sustaining pieces of advice from my mentorBill Moggridge soon after I started working with him in the late 1980's. He had something called the "ten day rule" that he applied religiously to his own life and suggested strongly that I did the same to mine.

The ten day rule dictated that he was never allowed to travel away from his wife, Karin, for more than ten days at a time. He would go to whatever lengths necessary to make it back home within the ten days even if it meant flying the next day to another client meeting. His view was that this design constraint made him more efficient with travel and also reminded him to keep a balance between home and work life. I have found both of these to be true and have applied the ten day rule throughout my career. I am convinced it has helped me maintain a great relationship with my own wife, Gaynor, for the last 27 years.

(Image by Beau Bergeron/IDEO / posted also on my LinkedIn Thought Leader blog)