The free apple

Audrey Boyle · Field note · November 9, 2026

Part of the brief: Knowing is not doing

What I expected

The more you quietly do, the more irreplaceable you become.

What I saw

People build “irreplaceable” out of work nobody counted: the birthday cake in the break room, checking on the new hire, the joke that settles a tense meeting. But nobody misses what was never a line item. It’s like an apple that rolls into your bag at the store for free: nice to have, not missed if it’s gone. The cost shows up later as symptoms, slower work or a team that doesn’t gel, and nobody connects it to what left. Work that’s never identified is erasable.

What to do Monday

List three things you do at work that nobody asked for. Tell your manager about one of them.

What’s still open

If it’s never named, can it ever be missed?