I think I've been working too much. How do you know when you've been working too much?

You know you're working too much when ... you dream about work. That's always my sign that I need a breather. When I'm literally rehearsing a big presentation in my sleep, I know I need a day off.

... you approach the elevator in your building and try to make it open with the key fob for your car. I did this recently, and it was a signal to me that I’d been preoccupied and over-stressed with the responsibilities of a new job. I made three promises that day: to tell myself to get up and go home, that this will all be here tomorrow for me to deal with; to stop twice a day and walk around the office to visit with the talented folks for whom I’m responsible; and to remember that I’m setting an example for those I work with. If I never get up and leave when I’m supposed to, I’m sending a silent signal that I value midnight oil burners. I do value productive, effective workers, but that doesn’t mean you have to be here at 8 p.m.

... ... it’s dark when you get to work, and dark when you leave the office.

You know you're working too much when you talk about work before you get there, while you're there and after you leave--and your friends are tired of hearing about it.