The sum of wisdom is that time is never lost that is devoted to work.

Hours spent seriously at a task tend to repay themselves, even when the result is not what you hoped. The skill accumulates, the understanding deepens, and the habit of effort itself becomes a resource. Idle time can slip away without leaving much behind, whereas work leaves traces that build on one another.

You may disagree when you remember work that felt pointless, and not all labour is equal. Still, look at something you gave real effort to that seemed wasted at the time. Ask what it taught you or made possible later. The return on devoted work often arrives by an indirect route.