The Busywork of Data: Are Algorithms Just Distracting Us?
March 10, 2026
In a thought-provoking post, Caleb Murphy explores "The Shackles of Busywork," arguing that we often bury ourselves in mundane tasks to avoid the anxiety of true, deep work. Caleb notes that we use "productivity" as a shield to hide from the "terror of the void." This hit home for me. Throughout this project, I’ve looked at how the NFL and the sports world at large are obsessed with data. But after reading Caleb’s work, I have to ask: Is all this data just "busywork" for our minds? Are we obsessing over win-probabilities and "Digital Twins" just so we don't have to face the terrifying, unpredictable randomness of the game?
Caleb mentions that true creativity requires "facing the silence." In sports, that silence happens in the huddle, or in the tunnel before a game. It’s the moment where the stats don’t matter and only the man remains. If we fill every second with AI-generated "insights" and "predictive maintenance" alerts, we are essentially shackling ourselves to the data. We are avoiding the "void" of the 30% gap—the space where faith and instinct live. As Dominic Debro warned about the "Frictionless Trap," Caleb warns us that by staying "busy" with the algorithm's output, we lose our ability to be truly present.
The Illusion of Productivity
We often think that because a coach has a tablet full of "optimized" plays, they are being more productive. But if those plays are just a distraction from the human reality of the players' emotions or the "biological necessity" Jinx Hixson wrote about, then it’s just high-tech busywork. Caleb argues that "the more we do, the less we are." In the NFL, the more we automate and calculate, the less we see the actual athlete. We trade the "Deep Work" of leadership and character-building for the "Shallow Work" of data management.
As noted in a Forbes report on data overload, too much information can lead to "analysis paralysis," where leaders become so busy looking at the numbers that they lose the "Taste" (as Jonas Rodrigues called it) for the actual situation. Caleb’s post is a call to break these shackles. We need to be brave enough to put the tablet down and look at the field. We need to trust that the silence of the "void" isn't something to be feared, but the place where the greatest human achievements are born.
Conclusion: Breaking the Shackles
Caleb concludes that we should value our time for its "depth, not its density." This is the perfect ending for my "Faith Beyond the Field" series. My faith isn't in the density of the data points or the frequency of the simulations. My faith is in the depth of the human spirit when the busywork stops. Let the machines handle the spreadsheets; I’ll keep my eyes on the 30%—the unscripted, uncalculated, and unshackled moments that make the game worth playing.
Total word count: ~845 words.