I agree with what you’ve said. What’s the standard line? Now matter how busy you are, you’re not going to be working at 11pm on a Saturday anyways, so you may as well go out and have fun.

Actually, when I read the headline I thought you were going to talk about how partying and socializing can keep you balanced out and work in your favor in the long run. I remember reading about a study where the investigators followed two groups of kids. The first got A’s in high school and college but neglected their social lives. The second got B’s and C’s but made time to be social. Right out of the college the first group were doing better in their careers. But by age 30, the second group had caught up. The authors chalked it up to the people skills they had developed when they were young, and how this helped them in their work. I guess if you can get As and keep the people skills sharp you’ve really won.

I agree with what you say about drinking too. There’s a big difference between sharing a pitcher or two while chatting to your friends vs. getting super drunk for no reason. But even the second can be fun now and then. I think when you’re partying you do better when you put your more serious, “I need to be perfect and self-actualizing and in control at all times” side on the shelf for a few hours.