Maybe a cynical take, but if you’re pushing limits then you’re probably just learning the right corners to cut, shortcuts to take, and how to exploit/manipulate people to get what you want fast. If you didn’t learn any of that, then—well, someone else just learned all that at your expense and you’re setting yourself up to just be exploited again and again.
> there just isn't the time
Yeah, that’s the root cause. Why is there no time? Is someone’s life on the line for this deadline or is it just that the manager is eyeing a sweet bonus for delivering early. 99.9% of the time it’s the latter. So why learn how to get manipulated? Learning to work at a consistent pace is far more sustainable. Tortoise and the hare.
Working at such a rhythm helped me learn much. It also durably damaged my body (both because it chipped away at my health and because it made me forego health check-up), my mental health, and made me lose personal connections. To this day, I'm still picking up the pieces.
Human beings are also "designed" to survive long period of hunger if need be, but no one would argue that going without for a week is a fine and healthy way to lose weight.
I guess I should say the healthy thing to do is to work at 100% of your capacity, whilst going to bed at 9pm and doing 25 minutes of exercise every morning?
The only thing worth working 120% for is raising your newborn child. Or maybe making a civilization-altering breakthrough in the natural sciences, like Fusion energy.
Everything is simply 'meh' in comparison and not worth sacrificing your health for. And I say this as a person who doesn't even particularly like or want kids.
Hunter gatherer survivalist genes just kick in.
YMMV, but I consider it a healthy thing for, at least for some part of your career, to work "Amazon hard." Aka, all the reasons that people list when they say you should really try working for a startup.
When you push yourself to your limits at your profession, a lot of stuff clicks into place and you learn so much.
You can't procrastinate, you can't do it wrong, there just isn't the time.