Say goodbye to working 9 to 5

So I think when Dolly Parton was singing about "Working 9 to 5..." she was simply whinging about something that now seems like a relic from the past.

We are seeing this cyle of the working day getting longer and longer - thanks to the wonderful opportunities that arise with the likes of globalisation, technology and the World Wide Web. No longer is work exclusive to the office but we also take it home with us, remote access from our laptops at home, on call 25 hours out of a 24 hour day and dare i forget the good ol' PDA/smartphone that sees us constantly connected.

I sometimes wonder if we know how to relax these days, or even if we want to. I'm one of those people that hate sitting around twiddling my thumbs. I like being busy.

There are times we work on projects that see us sitting in front of our PCs for periods over 8 hours/ day. The last of these hours surely aren't as productive as the first, or vice-versa, depending on your work habits - yet we still see this cycle continue.

Personally, I find myself winding up the later it gets in the evening. I was always the student that pulled all-nighters. I started studying after hours and into the wee hours of the morning. Many sleepless nights and rocking up straight from my computer desk at home to my exams at uni. That worked for me. I achieve my best results under this type of pressure.

This is not for everyone though. There are people that are up early, start at 8am and by 3pm they hit a brick wall and the day may as well be over.

There are a lot of variables in front of us but one thing remains certain - the working day, as we know it, is changing. There is no standard 9 to 5, and if there was i guarantee that we wouldn't be crying about it like Dolly Parton!

I'd be interested to hear from everyone out there - how many productive hours do you think you put in each working day? And, if you could pick your ideal working day, how would it look?

Speak up, you won't get fired!