Seawe
sounds to me like you want to 'watch the grass grow' :p
Actually, that's just about right. This suggestion is sort of "meh" to me, but I can understand that people really like this feature. As you do something, you see the "grass grow" and get a sense that you're working toward something, instead of just keeping it in the back of your mind that things are moving like they should. Of course, when you hit the higher levels, you wonder if that skill bar is ever going to move =)
And even with the "meh" sentiment, when I'm close to a new level, I find myself checking 'B' after every few crafts or after digging all nodes from a prospect action to try to gauge how much longer I'm going to procrastinate sleep =)