I was impressed when I read someone saying that she almost poised one hand with mulch when the other hand disturbed the soil.
During my first five or so years gardening, I tried to identify UNnecessary things that people tell you to do (without giving any reasons or "why").
During the the last few years, I've had it forcibly brought to my attention by the garden itself, that some of the things that "everyone says to do" ... REALLY DO need to be done.