Some tasks are completely futile, but I do them anyway.  It's futile to make my bed in the morning if I know I'll mess it up again at night.  But I do it because it feels better to sleep in a well-made bed than in one that's all messy.  It's futile to clean the house or do my laundry because everything will just get dirty again.  But I do it anyway because it's sort of essential.  Dirty clothes stink.  Dirty dishes are gross. 

It's slightly different with tasks that eventually complete themselves.  For example, sometimes it seems a little futile to rake leaves.  Not only will they be there again in exactly 12 months, if you wait long enough, the leaves will eventually decompose and essentially vanish.  But eventually is a fuzzy word.  They might decompose in a year if they're not piled too densely, or it might take several years. 

A more realistic example is shoveling snow.  All snow will eventually melt.  Fortunately for people who live in temperate regions, not only will snow inevitably melt by around April, it'll probably melt several times during the winter.  It's rare to have snow on the ground for more than a few weeks, let alone a few days. 

With that in mind, every time I shovel snow, I try to put forth as little effort as possible, because I know my efforts are literally futile.  It's like running in a circle:  The end result is exactly the same as the beginning, i.e. no snow.  It's always a game of chance:  Should I shovel the snow several times during the storm so it doesn't pile up and become more difficult, or should I wait until the sun comes out and melts it all away?  That, my friends, is one of the hardest decisions I make. #psychology