My last job, 2020-2024, was 100% WFH. My first role was on an exact schedule, 3 days a week. I found myself falling asleep during work and I was caught, too. Then I transitioned to a role with a flexible schedule. They paid lip service to shift schedules, but in reality, I clocked in/out whenever I could, and as long as work was done and hours were clocked, nobody batted an eyelash. And I hated it. But I loved it. Because I couldn't sit still at home, I found myself leaving my desk constantly, getting hungry or sleepy just after clocking in, or my insomnia presented an opportunity for long graveyard shifts where nobody was on Slack. No meetings, no cameras, no dress code. All this was detrimental to my work ethic and my attitude. It's not easy to feel like a professional in my living room wearing pajamas. So I do not recommend WFH unless you are highly disciplined and independently capable.
Mental hospitals and other rehab facilities impose rigid structures and schedules on the residents. You'll know what time they're waking you up, what time to eat, when to do hygiene, when medication is coming, and the groups/events that are planned. Patient improvement, often attributed to medication, is often thanks to the peace of mind, and lack of uncertainty, brought by all that discipline.
Being on a schedule like a train timetable may be unnatural. But even agrarian societies clung to their timepieces and calendars to tell them when and how to work on the farm, to care for animals, and to prepare for climate changes. I don't know about you, but I enjoy being asleep when it's dark, awake when the Sun is out, and sometimes I go a little crazy because I forget that stores and businesses have hours, and may be closed if I don't check before heading out.
The world around us is scheduled and programmed, and I don't know, perhaps unemployment is an opportunity to cut loose and make our own time, but for me it's crazymaking. Someone who's on a cruise ship or hanging out at a beach resort may feel differently. If you're unemployed and actively interviewing, do you schedule interviews, or do you just say "I'll be in when I finish eating and traffic is light"??? It would seem in our best interest to continue observing a schedule, so that inertia doesn't kill our employability.
I also find that I am a better worker when I can estimate how long a task will take, how much I can get done in a typical shift, and how to prioritize my time so that management is satisfied with my output and productivity.
I worked as a receptionist for two years, and boy howdy, I learned how to be jack-of-all-trades, and multitasked according to business demands, but at the end of the day, I had to pop everything off the stack of my desk and clear it off entirely before I could lock up and leave the office, so you can be sure that I anticipated quitting time. That was indeed unnatural for me: I am someone who starts things I can't finish, leaves windows open for weeks, makes a mess on the floor and runs out of energy to clean it up again. So the opposite experience at work was quite welcome, and helped me achieve better results outside of work.
