Issac I hope I'm understanding correctly, if I am, that's pretty much how I handle chocolate and I also believe on another thread Angry mentioned she does too.
If you become a pastry chef working with chocolate frequently, you'll need to master these short cuts too. WHY?: the kitchen is too hot, the heat in the kitchen changes how you have to work with chocolate. There isn't anywhere in my kitchen I can place tempered chocolate to set up or hold, as I'm working with it (as quickly as possible) my thinner pieces wilt. So I use the refid. to set and hold all chocolate garnishes, short storage and long term, I have no choices.
Second reason is time. I don't have the time to closely watch my chocolate. I don't really take my eye off the situation but it never has my total focus (someone is yelling, the dishwasher is squeezing infront of me, the delivery guy is waiting at the end of my table for me to sign product in, and I'm chilling something in the sink watching for it to firm but not set, etc...) while I'm taking it off and on the heat stirring. Where I worked I had 1 thermometer (for sugar that I used 2 minutes ago and is wet in the sink) so I never even knew what my temp. really was, just used my sight, feel and experience. I'd melt it HOPING my temp. was right, quick seed, then real low temp. melt again and use, using the cooler to quick set.
Chocolate worked this way holds for a VERY long time. One day only is a myth and unreal. I held certain chocolate garnishes (not meant to be eaten) over a year tightly sealed.
Tempering chocolate.......no way! I needed to do nice contempory pastry work but the reality of the job (which no one but me understood) required me to figure out how to do the impossible with no equpiment, not enough time and in a pastry hostile enviroment. Yes, learn how to temper, learn how to do everything correctly but I promise you life in a working kitchen forces you to do things much differently then ideal.
How well you know how to short cut everything determines survival.......