The Stuff You’re Doing That Doesn’t Show Up on Your To-Do List
There’s the work you plan.
And then there’s the work you actually do.
And in between those two sits a whole pile of invisible jobs that somehow creep into your week.
The little jobs that steal your time
They don’t feel like “real” tasks, so they never get written down. But they have a knack for showing up right when you were about to do something important:
Renaming files so you can actually find them again.
Resetting the same password (because your computer didn’t save it again).
Copy-pasting information into three different places.
Re-jigging a Canva design because the spacing felt “off.”
Chasing details from a client who swears they “already sent it.”
Wrestling with tech gremlins that should just work.
On their own, each one only takes a few minutes. Together, they eat hours. And because they weren’t planned, they leave you wondering where the time went.
Why they feel so draining
Invisible work isn’t just about time. It also uses up brainpower.
Every time you switch from the work you’d planned to the mini-job that pops up, you lose focus. By the time you circle back, you’re already behind — and usually more tired than you should be.
That’s why you can reach the end of the day feeling like you haven’t done much… but still feel wrung out. It’s not because you’re bad at time management. It’s because you’ve been carrying jobs that never even made it onto your list.
What to do about it
Step one is simple: notice the invisible work.
Start paying attention to the five-minute jobs that keep interrupting you. Even just writing them down for a week can be a bit of a shock — you’ll see how much time and energy they really take.
Step two: decide if they can be lightened.
Could this be solved with a template?
Is there a system that would prevent it happening again?
Could you automate part of it?
Or is this something you could hand off to someone else?
Sometimes the answer is no — some invisible work just comes with running a business. But even then, naming it helps. You start to give yourself credit for everything you’re holding together, rather than dismissing it as “just admin.”
A gentler way to look at it
Not everything needs fixing straight away. If you’ve got a backlog of invisible jobs, the last thing you need is another overwhelming project.
So start small: pick one recurring task that bugs you most. Create a template, tidy up your inbox, set up a quick system, or decide to hand it over. That one change can free up more headspace than you expect.
And even before you fix anything, take a moment to acknowledge it. Because the truth is, your business isn’t just built on the shiny launches and polished posts. It’s stitched together with all the unseen little actions you take every day.
They may not show up on your to-do list — but they’re the glue that keeps everything working.
✨ Noticing all that invisible work piling up?
You don’t have to carry it all yourself. Get in touch with me if you’d like support with the behind-the-scenes of your business — from smoothing systems to taking tasks off your plate.
