seems like every projects wants you to fork ans submit changes

I think that's just how software devs tend to work: a main "trunk" of code, from which they branch off for a feature or change, then when they're done writing the new code, merge it back into the trunk. That's the mode we're used to, the only tool we know for managing parallel code development.

How else would we do things? Or rather: how would you do things? This isn't a rhetorical question: I genuinely admit I don't know how you'd prefer to operate, or what you mean by punching in and out.

If you're asking for specific tasks, projects may have an issue tracker of some form where you can find stuff other people found, but other than that, FOSS often is a "see something that needs fixing, go and fix it" thing. Particularly if the devs themselves don't notice a problem, because they know what that confusing icon means or how that tool works, they won't create a task they don't even know needs doing. Even if they know something is bad, they might not know how to make it better.

If you're using or trying to use a program and notice something has been done poorly, is too complex for an entry-level user, whatever it is you think could or should be improved, talk to the people making it, or look for a contribution guide.

Even if you can't contribute code, it might be helpful to share your skills and knowledge by opening issues, explaining specific problems and offering ways to solve them.