I think my cushy WFH job has rotted my brain

Used to have an easy cushy WFH email job where I would spend like 6 hours a day just scrolling through my phone. Would also do some cool things like feed birds at the nearby park, but it was mostly dicking around on the internet. I now have horrible management and the job is super stressful and miserable, and I have to be in person. Currently applying to grad school (a master's in my field is actually very useful) as well as looking for a new job.

But anyway, looking back at when the job used to be easy peasy, I think that also made it too easy peasy to let my brain rot. I think my social skills are suffering from not having those passing interactions (wanted or not) you get with coworkers at an everyday job. I failed to replace intellectual stimulation through work with some other forms of that, like reading books or learning new skills. Up until I started this job, writing was something that came to me easily, but now after a few years at this job I've just been giving my computer screen Zoomer stare while trying to answer my grad school essay prompts.

My fake email job has been making me feel the same way other people describe Covid brain fog. As an aside, it does have me wondering if the unfettered internet access and lack of structure both of these situations have in common is the actual cause of brain fog. Anyway since this is basically the hot takes subreddit now, my hot take is that to some extent, having daily work and structure to one's day is actually healthier for the mind and soul than people credit it for