Thoreau was a self righteous deadbeat who lived on his friend’s land, 20 minutes walk from his childhood home and would get his mother to do his washing. He has a way with words, but not someone whose opinions I’d take seriously.

Regarding your question, the boring answer is that like most things, balance is required.

Becoming a mindless drone who optimises for productivity isn’t a good life. Neither is constantly living a life of leisure, which typically has long term consequences.

As a personal anecdote, I find “balance” by being acutely aware of if I’m in a “work” phase or a “living” phase of my life/career, etc and it has worked very well for me.

I find 6-9 months about right before I reassess.