I definitely am not on the side of making policy of such work hours (it's illegal to work more than 40 hours / week and on Sundays [for most] here in Germany, a

I definitely am not on the side of making policy of such work hours (it's illegal to work more than 40 hours / week and on Sundays [for most] here in Germany, and I support that), but to play devil's advocate a little bit... I feel I've benefited a lot from being really obsessed with certain programming projects earlier in life, "worked" (?) something like 80 hours per week, basically every waking hour, got well ahead of my peers and set up the great and relaxed career I enjoy now. So actually in some ways, working your ass off early in youthful exuberance and then reaping the benefits later can be the "lazy" option, no?