Why Easy Tasks Feel Hard and How to Fix That

By understanding how our brain processes routine behaviors, we can transform seemingly hard tasks into easier ones and prevent easy tasks from becoming unbearable.

By: Renee Chung

Ever wonder why even simple tasks like doing dishes can feel so difficult when you have to do them day after day? Or why starting a new exercise habit seems impossible, but some people manage to run every morning without fail? The answer lies in how our brains process routine behaviors.

The Paradox of Daily Tasks

According to Iso-Ahola (2021), most of our everyday life consists of obligatory long-term behaviors—from work to household chores to exercise. Interestingly, even seemingly easy activities can become mentally draining when repeated monotonously. This happens because of two fundamental human tendencies:

• We naturally follow the path of least resistance (yes, we're wired to be a bit lazy!).

• We desperately avoid monotony and boredom.

These tendencies often work against each other. Our brain wants efficiency, but also craves stimulation.

How Your Brain Makes Tasks Easier

When you repeat a behavior consistently, something magical happens. Your brain gradually reduces conscious processing (the effortful thinking part) and increases nonconscious processing (the automatic part). This makes the task easier over time.

Think about driving. Remember how much concentration it required when you first learned? Now you can drive while having a conversation or thinking about your day. That's your nonconscious mind taking over to conserve mental energy.

The Secret: Repeat-With-Variety

Simply repeating behaviors isn't enough—the key is to "repeat-with-variety." This means consciously injecting variation into routine patterns. For example:

• Exercise using different routes when jogging

• Listen to different music while cleaning

• Try new recipes when cooking dinner

• Watch different Netflix shows while walking on the treadmill

This variety serves two important purposes. First, it prevents monotony and boredom that might make you quit. Second, it maintains a sense of freedom and choice, making the activity feel less obligatory.

Quick Action Plan: Make Tasks Feel Easier

Here are some ideas to add a small element of variety to when easy tasks feel hard.

Week 1: Set Up Your System

• Day 1-2: Identify 3 tasks that feel hard but are actually simple

• Day 3-4: Add one small variation to each task (new music, different time, etc.)

• Day 5-7: Track which variations work best

Week 2: Build the Habit

• Monday: Use the 2-minute rule - commit to just 2 minutes of dreaded tasks

• Wednesday: Pair boring tasks with something enjoyable

• Friday: Schedule specific rewards after completing routine tasks

Daily Quick Wins

• Choose ONE task to do with full attention each day

• Change one small element in your routine (route, music, timing)

• Set a timer for mundane tasks to create urgency

This review of social psychological and cognitive neuroscience research proposes that everyday tasks are best accomplished through an interplay of conscious and nonconscious processing, where initially difficult activities become easier through repetition and automaticity (nonconscious processing), while easy tasks can become harder due to monotony unless variety is consciously introduced—suggesting that the key to sustained task completion lies in "repeating-with-variety" to balance efficiency with engaging experiences.

By understanding how our brain processes routine behaviors, we can transform seemingly hard tasks into easier ones and prevent easy tasks from becoming unbearable. The next time you find yourself procrastinating on a simple task, try adding a small element of variety—it might be just what your brain needs to get moving.

Reference: Iso-Ahola, S. E. (2021). Toward a theory of conscious–nonconscious processing and getting hard (and easy) things done in everyday life. Psychology of Consciousness Theory Research and Practice, 9(1), 40–63. https://doi.org/10.1037/cns0000291