That feeling in your gut that there's something wrong with what you're doing, even though you know what you're doing is completely reasonable, is from having in

That feeling in your gut that there's something wrong with what you're doing, even though you know what you're doing is completely reasonable, is from having internalised the dominant culture's view on work, which from an anglo-american context probably means suspicion of anything which doesn't place an emphasis on a projection of looking busy like a labourer on a factory line with some kind of neurotic rendition of the protestant work ethic. Obviously if your boss is a tool, or has issue with it, even though its reasonable, whether to continue on with it any way is up to you. But if you know its reasonable, and its just the feeling, screw that feeling. Your life will be better off if you can get rid of it completely. Its the same feeling that makes bankers stay at the office for 12 hours even when they don't do anything for 6 of them. Not only will you do your job better if you're spending some time researching and thinking about the task, but if your boss is a tool, you'll likely be upskilling your future self for your next job as well. All this is assuming you work at a job or living a life where your skills are actually the important thing, and not just the impression you are constantly working...