I've met some people like this and my theory, based as well on my own experience of how to get me to actually do things, is that humans are hugely dependent on externalizing (or, structures) to get things done.

So when working from home, the best way to enable actual work getting done is to have a work room that's dedicated to doing work in, and nothing else. No kid's toys allowed in there, no kids allowed in there, no videogames installed on the PC in there, and so on. This was what it took for me to achieve what I believe to be my maximum focus.

I have issues getting to the gym as well, and you describe the externalization that made it easy for me to get to the gym every day as well. For me it wasn't about having the gym on the way to something, but rather having every aspect of my environment upon waking up keyed to the goal of getting me out of the house and into the gym. So my gym clothes are underneath my feet when I swing my legs out of bed, so I just chuck them on out of habit. My gym shoes are visible from the bathroom near the door so I can't help but see them when I go in to brush my teeth and then come out after. My gym card is out and visible as well.

I've learned my brain is too squishy to be depended upon, but when I leverage externalization and make the universe be my brain for me, I can get stuff done I never thought I'd be able to do. Sometimes the easiest way to do that is to get a job that provides a lot of structure for you, but my hope is that that isn't truly necessary for everyone, because having the ability to set your own workspace is hugely freeing and something I think everyone should have the right to do.

I had an advantage in the big push to WFH because I have really bad ADHD and already knew I couldn't trust my brain, and had already read a bunch of books on ADHD and focus and motivation, and so had the strategies ready to go. I feel like if people who prefer office environments, specifically for the reason that they focus better there, had these same strategies, they might be able to find their home office (or a coworking space or library) just as effective as their work office.

Counter-perspective: my WFH office setup is the exact same setup I game and do personal dev on. I'm a button-press away from my KB+M+LCD pointing at my much-more-enjoyable home PC (my corporate device is laughably bad). I don't find I'm tempted away from work during work hours, not even a little bit, UNLESS work sucks: uninteresting work, painful people, busywork, endless process, low autonomy, low trust.. all that stuff has me yearning for the satisfaction I'd otherwise get from productive relationships, meaningful work, and high autonomy. If circumstances permit, I'll leave, but sometimes they don't.

> I don't find I'm tempted away from work during work hours, not even a little bit, UNLESS work sucks: uninteresting work, painful people, busywork, endless process, low autonomy, low trust..

And this happens at the office, too. There are always ways to slack off, you don't need to already be using your sweet gaming pc or whatever. Mindlessly browsing HN or what have you "while compiling" has the same effect.

But I don’t want another room in my apartment (nor can I afford one), I like walking / taking a tram to work (when the commute time is sane), and I like interacting with (most of) my colleagues. Wat nou?

My ideal scenario was when I could park a travel trailer in the back yard and work out of that, but admittedly this takes a lot of space.

I feel same, but I still believe people should have the choice.

Exactly this.

That said, I think both hybrid/distributed teams and individuals suffer a bit from mixed remoteness, and I'd strongly consider working somewhere where in-person teams are fully so (eg not mixed with remote folks) and vice versa.

Unfortunately many people are unable (unwilling?) to grasp this logic and mistakenly assume that if something works for them, it obviously has to be the same way for others.