It's less unfortunate in the startup world where a rainbow chasing deathmarch has at least a theoretical possibility of ending at a pot of gold. It's the deathmarch on the corporate culture treadmill where the carrot is climbing the ladder at best and keeping your health insurance more typically that really sucks.
On the other hand, a big push can be worthwhile when the timing of milestones is outside your control. Sometimes a December 26th ship date might as well be November 1, next year. Likewise, ramen is cheap but not endless and the pace at which leases burn through capital is calendar days not hours worked. The alternative isn't irrational.
I'd even go so far as to say that there is a certain buzz that comes from the occasional all-nighter...always 8-5 is the life of a shoe clerk. None of which is to suggest that balance isn't good and a worthwhile pursuit, but if the muse never visits, it's just a job not art.
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It's less unfortunate in the startup world where a rainbow chasing deathmarch has at least a theoretical possibility of ending at a pot of gold. It's the deathmarch on the corporate culture treadmill where the carrot is climbing the ladder at best and keeping your health insurance more typically that really sucks.
On the other hand, a big push can be worthwhile when the timing of milestones is outside your control. Sometimes a December 26th ship date might as well be November 1, next year. Likewise, ramen is cheap but not endless and the pace at which leases burn through capital is calendar days not hours worked. The alternative isn't irrational.
I'd even go so far as to say that there is a certain buzz that comes from the occasional all-nighter...always 8-5 is the life of a shoe clerk. None of which is to suggest that balance isn't good and a worthwhile pursuit, but if the muse never visits, it's just a job not art.