As you may have noticed, or as your parents may have told you, working life now is a lot different to what it was a few years ago. According to a recent government survey, 11% of people are working more than sixty hours per week, almost double what the national expectation of full-time work (37 hours) is. Also, one in eight people are working at the weekends too! With careers taking over such a huge part of our lives, it's no wonder that some people are struggling to see the difference between work and play!

The psychological stuff

Improving the amount of weekly recreation time, and what activities you get up to, can have a huge psychological, as well as emotional, effect on you. For example:

• Excitement - Having more play time can add a further degree of excitement to your life. There's no greater feeling than getting home from work and playing the new Call of Duty, knowing that you've been looking forward to it all day.
• Creativity - Spending more time recreationally can boost your creative spirit, allowing you to think of new ideas, find more inspiration, have a wider imagination and generally amuse yourself a lot easier.
• Happiness - Recreation has been proven to make people happier. It also makes people more optimistic and able to put a positive spin on life. The more time you spend doing something you enjoy, the happier you'll eventually be overall. Simple really!
• Concentration - Playing video games has been proved to boost concentration levels in frequent players, improving hand-eye coordination and skills awareness. In some cases, it has also been found to improve problem-solving and quick-thinking, depending on the type of games the player enjoys.

Be selfish for a bit

In most cases, working too hard is a result of employees not being able to say 'no' every now and then. It's important that you place your self-happiness, relaxation and enthusiasm first; otherwise you're bound to let your career trample all over your personal life. By giving yourself a bit of 'you time' every day, you're less likely to be bogged down by stress, depression and anxiety.

Reducing work-related stress

Stress caused by working too much is a massive issue in the UK and, if left untreated, can lead to other more distressing problems, such as depression. If you find yourself becoming a bit of a workaholic, try remembering some of these top tips:

• Try to work out more as exercise is a huge stress reliever
• Make more time for your favourite hobbies and personal errands
• Make more time for friends, family and your partner
• Wind down properly after work, even if it's just reading a magazine with a cup of tea
• Take allowed breaks at work, especially if you're sat in front of a computer screen all day
• Organise your workload properly so you're not bundled with last-minute deadlines
• Learn how to say 'no' - you don't have to work overtime, be on call or stay late if it's not in your contract!