All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

1. A person who never takes time off from work becomes boring and bored.

Idioms and Phrases

Hard work without time for recreation is not good for one's health, as in If Harry keeps up that grueling schedule, he's headed for a breakdown—all work and no play isn't healthy . A proverb included in James Howell's collection of 1659, this phrase remains so familiar that it is often shortened, as in the example.