>When i'm expected to be in the office every day, given funny looks if i pack up my shit at 5pm, asked where i was if i didnt eat lunch at my desk, then quite frankly, i generally leave the contract early.

This. I'm the same way.

Now I only take 100% remote contracts and now I'm 2-3x more productive than my former office-going self.

Fun tip:

When someone asks "Where are you?" Then the correct answer is:

"Who wants to know?"

There are 2 exceptions:

1. It's your Mother asking. She has a right to know because she gave you life.

2. Your employer, when you are on the click. Because they are paying for your time.

Since I always bill by the hour and time everything to the minute as I go...I can answer them "Where am I" and send them a URL to the thing that I worked on.

If they are asking when I'm explicitly not billing... then either:

A) I ghost them immediately and terminate the contract

B) Ghost them the day after and send them back files after wiping everything clean.

This is the value in having multiple streams of income (rental properties, small contracts and passive income)