I happen to like staring at stuff in the oven, watching the chemical changes in the food, the bubbling of sauce, the sizzling of meats, the rising of pastry and bread stuffs. I find it all rather fascinating. Of course, sometimes, when you have cooked a particular meal several times, the novelty wears of somewhat.
However, tedious or not, I am pretty obsessive about ensuring that I neither burn, nor undercook whatever I make. Therefore, it is my habit to watch anyway. I will literally pull up a chair and watch, to ensure that cheese toppings are golden, NOT brown, but golden (which contrary to popular opinion are very different things), to make sure that meats do not dry out, to basically make sure that food comes out as perfect as it can. I like food. It's not just nourishment, but an event, and worth taking the time over in my opinion.