As I’ve worked from home for the past few years, I’ve found that gaming has become a “commute” for me, separating morning from “going to work.”
Wow this feels familiar. I worked a remote job from early 2018 through the middle of last year, and had a really difficult time separating work life from everything else (I was working and living and doing basically everything in one room, which is exactly the wrong way to do it). Games were the thing that triggered my body to relax and signaled that work was done, either for the night or for a break I was giving myself during the day.
I usually “commute” to my couch at the end of the work day and either put on some TV, read, or (most often) play something on my Switch. I have a separate gaming PC and work laptop, but they share the same desk and monitor, so the little bit of mental distance created by walking to the living room for a while is extremely important, even if I do eventually end up going back to my “work” spot for my evening recreation.