Half the Day, Gone to Emails: A Rant on Burnout, Tech, and What Work Should Feel Like

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A parking spot standoff sets the tone for a blunt look at a headline that won’t die: half of our workday is supposedly swallowed by “busy work.” We unpack what that really means, where the numbers feel inflated, and where the pain is absolutely real—think login mazes, clunky forms, scattered files, and tools that don’t talk to each other. We push past the hot takes to ask a better question: which tasks are truly waste, which are necessary scaffolding, and how do we make the unavoidable parts fast, quiet, and almost invisible?

We bring lived experience to the table—from car-sales paperwork that felt thicker than a mortgage to modern workflows that splinter attention across tabs and approvals. Along the way, we dissect the promise and pitfalls of AI at work, the difference between integration and tool sprawl, and practical ways to cut friction without creating new headaches. Expect straight talk on email triage, calendar chaos, and the small automations that add up: sane sign-ons, reusable templates, pre-filled forms, and shared naming conventions that make search a win instead of a wager.

The conversation lands on agency and identity. If your day is crushed by ritual, you can redesign it with data-backed proposals that tie improvements to cycle time and error rates. And if the role itself isn’t for you, it’s ok to admit it—there’s power in pivoting toward hands-on work, trades, or any craft that matches how you like to build. We also pose a simple, revealing question: if you could go back, what work would you choose—and what’s the smallest step you can take toward it now?

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review. Your stories and do-over dreams help shape what we dig into next.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Well, this is gonna be a day today.
I pull up to work and to go tomy regular parking spot and
there's a damn lawn care guyhere spraying the spraying the
yard or whatever you call it,the lawn.
What the hell?
It is blocking me?
Irritated, irritated, plus Ididn't have enough time this

(00:22):
morning to pick out all of thetopics I wanted to talk about.
I only have one for you, sowe're gonna stumble through
this.
Uh why half your workday seemslike a waste, and the reason you
feel so drained, this is from anew study.
And let me tell you, it is abunch of BS.
These people now want tocomplain about doing regular

(00:42):
everyday tasks, you know,checking email, doing time
expenses, filling out timecards.
What?
What is the what is the matterwith these people, these little
baby crying people?
American workers say they'redrowning in busy work and it's
draining productivity, fuelingstress, and even pushing some to

(01:03):
quit.
No, let me tell you aboutpaperwork.
When you sell cars, I thepaperwork is like a frickin'
novel you have to fill out.
That's how thick it is.
All this, especially for jaguarsand um jaguar Land Rovers.
Oh my gosh, it's ridiculous.
BMW was just as bad.
Maybe it was just a dealership Iworked for.

(01:25):
I don't know, but the paperworkwas ridiculous.
I hated that part of the job.
Everything.
Uh it took up a lot of time.
It was worse than buying ahouse.
All right, so that's accordingto a poll of 2,000 white collar
and knowledge work.
Knowledge workers?
What does that mean?
That's according to a poll of2,000 white-collar and knowledge

(01:49):
workers and 1,000 IT decisionmakers.
Oh, well, excuse me, knowledgeworkers.
What the f is that?
Results showed these employeesare losing an estimated half of
their day.
Bullshit.
51% total work hours estimatedon tedious, low-value tasks like

(02:11):
copying and pasting.
Oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh.
Heaven forbid.
Managing emails.
Oh, that's the worst.
Oh my gosh, I can't believe it.
And data entry.
Oh, heaven's forbid.
Oh, how can they go on?
In fact, one in three resrespondents has considered
quitting a job because ofoutdated or frustrating tech,

(02:35):
and a similar number, 33% ofworkers believe that their
current work technology iscontributing to feelings of
stress.
We have all kinds of technologytoday.
I don't know what the hellthey're talking about.

(03:01):
It is crazy.
Just to log into something.
And all the different things youhave to log into, that I will
agree with.
Um, conducted by Talker Researchon behalf of HP, the survey also
found that 85% of workers saidrepetitive tasks are top
contributor to burnout.
I don't know what they mean bythat.

(03:22):
Repetitive stuff.
What does that mean?
Respondents also said thatrepetitive tasks triggered
stress four times a week.
Oh, these poor people with theirstress and their office work,
bless their little pee pickinghearts more than 200 times a
year, while workplace technologyitself disrupts focus about
three times a week.
Beyond heightening stress, negor repetitive tasks breed

(03:46):
apathy, leaving employeesdisengaged and less invested in
their work.
I wish they would tell me whatthey mean.
What what are what give me anexample?
And robbing them of time tothink creatively, solve
problems, and collaboratemeaningfully.
Uh-huh.
What does that mean?
Talk about Love Island orsomething when you're standing

(04:09):
around the coffee maker.
An overwhelming 76% of ITdecision makers said their
company employees are wastingtoo much time on menial work.
Menial work.
What is that?
Oh that's right, because they'reknowledge thinkers.
They're knowledge workers.
I just want to err.

(04:29):
These findings highlight agrowing disconnect between the
work people are hired andinspired to do and the work they
actually spend time on, said AmyWinhoven, global head of
business personnel systems andalliance marketing for HP.
Well that's a mouthful, isn'tit?
I bet she's a winner.
When creative potential isburied under administrative

(04:50):
burden, companies waste talent.
Those who prioritize work thatis fulfilling and unlock growth,
those that don't will fail, bewill fall behind.
Oh, so now we need to becreative at work.
Is that what they're saying?
You need to express yourcreativity and not worry about
having to check emails and dotime expense reports and you

(05:14):
know clock in and do your timecard and all that stuff.
Oh my gosh, I can't believe it.
These people, I swear.
The top time drains?
Here we go.
Writing emails.
Oh, heaven forbid.
Data management, whatever thatmeans, catching up on team

(05:35):
communications and diggingthrough files or emails.
Oh gosh, that's so horrifying.
Workers also pointed to managingcalendars and meetings.
Oh my goodness gracious, I can'tbelieve it.
Report uh reporting,troubleshooting tech issues, and
filling out forms liketimesheets and expense reports.

(05:58):
Oh my gosh, heaven forbid.
You know how long it takes me tofill out my time card?
Two minutes, maybe?
That's that's and all that islogging in.
Wow.
Two minutes.
Wow.
These people, I swear.
Even as workers lose half theirday to b half their day to busy
work, that I call bullshit onthat.

(06:21):
Ah uh fewer than four in tenbelieve their employer is giving
them the right tools to succeed.
Just 37% strongly agree theircurrent tools allow them to do
their work, and only 39% believetheir employer is equipping them
to thrive in today'sfast-changing environment.
That can disconnect fuels,frustration, stress, and

(06:43):
disengagement.
These people employees saythey're eager to for simpler,
smarter tools.
Like what?
Well, come up with something.
Oh, that's right.
They're too busy.
They're too busy doing busywork.
Oh, if you don't like your job,move on to something else.
These people, I swear, I know Ikeep repeating myself.

(07:06):
I'm just dumbfounded by this.
So employees say they're eagerfor they're eager for simpler,
smarter tools that free themfrom repetitive tasks like data
management, writing emails,filling out forms, and
organizing files.
What kind of job do you havewhere you're doing that all
frickin' day?
That's what I want to know.

(07:28):
And IT leaders are listening.
70% of IT decision makers saythey plan to roll out integrated
AI tools.
Well, there you go.
In the next 12 months, what doesthat mean?
Other priorities, yeah, let'snot do that.
Other priorities include fasterdevice performance, better
collaboration software, and moreautomation.

(07:50):
With workplace tech still facingshort for many employees, it's
clear the promise of innovationhasn't caught up with reality.
But what do you want?
What do you you want thecomputers to just start thinking
for you and just say, hey, readmy mind and do my work?
Is that what you want?
I swear I can't with thesepeople.
All right, that's all I've got.

(08:12):
Really?
I mean, what is the world comingto with these people like that,
these knowledge workerscomplaining about doing a time
card?
Get off.
Get off.
Get off of it.
Alright, we need I need to moveon.
This guy is still here sprayingand blocking my parking spot.
I'll put a picture of it out onX.
I'm really upset.

(08:33):
He needs to come and move hisdamn truck.
Really?
Oh, okay.
Um, let's see.
Oh, question of the day.
Okay, I know this is a weirdquestion.
I guess it's not really weird.
It's but we're going with it.
If you could go back and changeyour job, what would you want to

(08:56):
do instead of what you did?
Or have you always did youalways want to do what you what
you did?
I, you know, I kind of my wholelife just kind of fell into all
of my jobs, believe it or not.
I never had a set path.
And I admire people who do that,who know what they want, they go
after it, they do the work, theygo to college, they they

(09:16):
dedicate themselves.
That that and then sports, theydo that with sports too.
I just I just admire the crapout of that.
I never did any of that.
I just kind of fell intoeverything, and I'm I'm upset
about it.
But you know, whatever.
It is what it is now.
I'm 58, so whatever.
I like my job now, it's okay.
It's a job, it gives mesomething to do during the day.

(09:38):
It's not bad, it's notstressful, it's okay.
Um, and it gives us healthinsurance.
Well, uh well, it does cost me alot of money to work to get my
health insurance, uh, to coverjust me and the gent.
But anyway, yeah, so if I couldgo back and do it all again, I
don't know.
I've changed my mind so manytimes.
I mean, obviously, we can't goback and do that, so this is

(10:00):
really a ridiculous question,but I'm asking it anyway.
I think I would either want tobe an actress, or or what I'd
really would like to do, what Ireally sh wish I would have
done, and you're gonna laugh atme.
You're gonna laugh your ass offat me.
I wish that I had gone through atrade school and and gotten and

(10:26):
learned something like that.
And I think I'm definitely ahands-on type person.
So either something incosmetology, but then I don't
know if I want to, I don't knowif I'd want to work with hair.
And I'd I'd want to do somethinglike skincare makeup, maybe, but
I don't know, maybe somethingelse entirely, some kind of
trade school.
I wish I had done that.

(10:47):
Okay, that's it.
I'm rambling, so you guys have agreat day.
It's Wednesday, we'll getthrough it.
This guy needs to move his truckso I can park my car where I
normally park.
You're throwing me off, dude.
Okay, gotta go.
Bye.