[coopykins]

Most of the jobs listed seem something you can do on autopilot, while your mind is doing something else, which would make sense for creative minds.

[babblingfish]

Brandon Sanderson often says in interviews that "laying bricks" is the best job a writer can have. He also says being a software engineer is particularly bad job for writers because you cannot do it on autopilot. I can confirm.

Back then, all jobs moved at a much slower pace. There was a lot more off time during work hours.