Rihanna feels guilty if she stops working for even "a little bit".
The Barbados-born singer has released an album every year since 2005, with her last record Talk That Talk coming out in November 2011.
She has also completed world tours, shot a movie and is working on a clothing line.
The 24-year-old loves her job but has come to realise she has to make more time for relaxation going forward.
"I'm very competitive with myself and I take that through my career. I want to get better every time, the next step always has to be upward. I guess I'm relentless in that way when it comes to my work. I don't ever give up and I feel guilty stopping for a little bit. But sometimes it's good to stop," she told British TV show Daybreak.
Rihanna credits her childhood with her strive for success as an adult. She had a tough time at home as her father was addicted to drugs and alcohol and eventually split from her mother when she was 14.
Looking back, Rihanna thinks she learnt some major life lessons when she was still a child.
"A lot of the reasons why I am what I am in my character has a lot to do with my culture," she explained. "My upbringing, I definitely had to learn fast how to ignore things, or not let them bother me. Just accept them for what they are. I think that definitely helped to prepare me for this world."
The star was quizzed about where she sees herself in five years' time. She has hit the headlines recently thanks to her love life, with claims she was hoping to reunite with her violent ex-boyfriend Chris Brown and was romancing Ashton Kutcher.
The star recently insisted she is single and says the only hopes she has for the coming months are to do with her career.
"God just has a way of working things out the way he wants to and you have no say in that so I don't really know what's in the next five years. The only real plan I have is professional. I'm really looking forward to seeing what life brings to me," she said.
"[As for US X Factor] I haven't heard about that. I didn't get the call yet! I really didn't."