i know the feeling - I try to avoid in the daytime but office is eerily empty today
monitoring is a pain and it does take time. I also find that looking how many days through a cycle you are every day makes it feel like a cycle takes forever, but it does tell you where you are.
I didn't monitor anything last month and it drove me nuts not knowing when AF was due and all that.
If you're not seeing CM, the best suggestion they have is to make sure you're drinking enough. It's a lot easier to monitor if you're properly hydrated. I don't know if that makes it easier to swim through too, but that would make sense...however, the amount people produce is personal - everyone's different.
I wouldn't start monitoring your temp part way through a cycle to be honest as it is unlikely to tell you much at this point, but it might get you in the habit.
It's all about getting to know what your body's doing, but even then there's hundreds of things that can knock things off and mean you miss your surge on ov sticks (which can be very short for some people so it can be missed if you're only checking once a day) or your temps don't show a clear day for ovulation (it'll only show after anyway so you can't use this to time sex) or you can't monitor your CM right so it really comes down to regular sex. sperm can last 2-3 days so if you keep trying you've always got some in there waiting...
It is so frustrating, I totally appreciate that, but the more you try the better chance you have...