I can understand the comp being a motivator, but stress. L24 and N24 has always seemed ludicrous. That's insane micromanaging. Is it really unacceptable for something to take more than a work day? Not every task can be broken down that way, you also sometimes change something which breaks something else so you are actually further back. Plus when do you plan work?

I guess we have different understanding of L24/N24. There is no need for a task to take 1 day, it can span days easily. I had tasks which spanned a week or two just because they were deep technical work. But I was able to explain what I did and what progress did I make to the room of engineers. Nobody has been asking me about deadlines or when would it be done, it's not that type of meeting. But it's a nice check-in point to see if I(or the team) move in the right direction and if I don't report meaningful progress for multiple days maybe I need help or extra eyes on my work. I would post draft PR with the code so other people can evaluate and correct my approach. This saves you from working days in the wrong direction.