It's more that the side quests are a mixed bag in terms of how compelling they are, yet they aren't really side quests but required for the more interesting parts of the game.

The rush is so that I can do the million other things I want to do in my spare time. I much prefer the old way of doing the main quest and coming back to side quests for an hour or two here and there.

Is it so important that you need to finish the game in order to have your spare time back? So what if it takes you 2 months to finish the game, playing a couple of hours here, a few hours there?

Not really, but I'd prefer it not to be like Skyward sword where I got frustrated with the waggle controls, put it down and never picked it up again.