Days of Invisible Work!

Ever have one of those days where it feels like you're working all the time — and actually going along pretty well — but at the end of the day it doesn't seem like you made any progress at all?

I call those "invisible days," because I know I did a lot but I have absolutely nothing to show for it.

Today seems to be one of those days, primarily because there were a whole lot of things I had to do that mostly involved following up on things I'd already done... mostly to confirm that the people or organization at the other end were actually doing their job.

There's something so ironic about that because supposedly all this automation we have nowadays is designed to make our lives easier, and yet I find myself spending more time than ever following up on things because there's never any indication whether what's supposed to happen is actually happening.

The first thing I did today was try to chase down an energy credit on our electric account which turned out to be really time consuming because I couldn't wade my way through the automated phone system maze.

It quickly escalated into one of those situations where it took me three phone calls and about 45 minutes to actually get to speak to a human being who not only knew what was going on, but was also able to take action.

Next, I wanted to start on a gardening project that was in desperate need of doing (because it is spring, after all), but I realized that I had to do a whole bunch of cleaning up before I could even get to that project and so instead of working on what I wanted to work I ended up working on a tidy-up project instead.

Then — because it is the end of the quarter after all — some various bits of paperwork showed up in my email that required me to act on them right away, and it would be easier to do so today rather than wait another week. That ate another 45 minutes off the clock, while I didn't really have anything tangible to show for my efforts!

So it basically got to be 2:15 in the afternoon before I was able to start on my gardening project that I initially intended to get started on at 10:00am.

It all made me sit back and wonder whether most of life is basically about navigating a series of distractions rather than actually working on the tasks that we set for ourselves as goals. As John Lennon famously observed "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans."

It also reminded me of an old humorous cartoon from many years ago, depicting a guy who basically has to spend all day cleaning his desk so he can do his work... but he doesn't get it done because he's cleaning his desk instead!

How much time do we spend cleaning our metaphorical desks so we can actually do our work? And is the fact that we so often end up here with these kinds of thoughts simply a reflection of the fact that we actually have too much going on in our lives and should be slowing down?

I don't have any quick and easy answers to this, and I don't expect that anybody else does, either. Many would say that we "have so much more" than we did even 50 years ago... but is all that "more" actually making the quality of our lives better? Or just the quantity?

Regardless of the answer, it doesn't mean that I don't find it periodically frustrating to be juggling so many loose ends!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great remainder of your week!

Comments, feedback and other engagement is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation! I do my best to answer comments, even if it sometimes takes a few days!

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2026.04.01 00:25 PST
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