Although this was extra overhead and duplication, we considered this a customer requirement; that is, our customer wanted us to track progress a certain way, and so we respectfully obliged.

You will get extra motivation if you share your goal with these people and ask them to keep track of your progress.

Perhaps you're extra diligent when answering customer calls. You may think you're on track for a stellar performance review -- but your boss could be wondering why each call takes you so long.