Why the Tasks You Avoid Might Be the Ones That Make You a Better Designer

Reflect on what tasks hold you back and find a way to get them focused and completed with AI.

There is a quiet tension in every creative profession between the work we love and the work we tend to avoid.

We all have them. Tasks we simply do not enjoy, yet they sit on our to-do lists, quietly accumulating weight. For designers, these tasks are often the repetitive or administrative parts of the job. Sorting through hundreds of reference images, preparing pitch decks, manually adjusting rendering outputs that miss the mark. It is not glamorous work. But it is essential.

The truth is, we do not hate the work itself. What we hate is the friction. The time it steals from what we truly care about: the act of creating, of designing something that moves people, of feeling proud of our craft.

In fact, a study from the University of California, Irvine, found that the average worker is interrupted every 11 minutes, and it takes up to 25 minutes to return to the original task. Layer onto this the endless updates of design software, the constant stream of AI tool announcements, and client expectations rising with every project, and it is no wonder that many of us feel trapped between creative ambition and operational overload.

Reframing the Unpleasant

One of the biggest mindset shifts I have personally experienced is this: I stopped thinking of these tasks as hurdles. I began treating them as part of my creative ritual. Like stretching before exercise, or preparing the studio before sketching.

This simple reframing turns avoidance into anticipation. Psychologists call this "cognitive reappraisal." Studies show it reduces stress by helping us reinterpret negative tasks as meaningful parts of a larger goal.

A great example comes from the Japanese concept of kaizen, meaning continuous improvement. Toyota famously applied this principle on its production lines. Rather than ignoring tedious steps, they optimized each one, creating one of the most efficient manufacturing systems in the world. In creative industries, this means refining your tools and methods until even the frustrating steps become smoother, and eventually, almost invisible.

Using AI to Lighten the Load

Here is where I see the power of AI not as a trendy shortcut, but as a practical assistant. When I coach creative professionals, especially exhibition and experience designers, we often discuss how AI can act almost like a coach to keep your vision focused. It is here to remove the repetitive layers, so you stay in your flow state longer.

By now, many of us have discovered how AI image editing tools can reduce an hour-long task of background removal to less than five seconds. Multiply this by the dozens of assets we prepare for projects, and you see not just time saved, but mental energy preserved for higher-value work.

Yet, many designers hesitate to embrace AI, fearing it will flood their already busy brains with even more tools to learn. From my own observations, this is exactly where thoughtful curation becomes crucial. Rather than chasing every new update, what works is knowing what tools are worth integrating now, and keeping a mental bookmark of what might serve you later.

This is a central pillar in my AI course for creative professionals. It is designed to reduce overwhelm, helping you build a flexible framework to navigate new AI developments without feeling like you are drowning in information. If this resonates, you are welcome to join the waitlist. My approach is grounded in real-world design practice, not theory, and aims to ease, not add, to your workflow.

Turning Pain Points Into Progress

What I have learned, and continue to remind myself, is this: the things we hate doing are often the very areas that hold the most potential for progress.

Not because we magically grow to love them, but because in confronting them, we build resilience. We sharpen our process. We become designers who do not just survive in a fast-paced, demanding industry, but thrive in it.

Research from Harvard Business Review supports this. Their studies found that professionals who approach unpleasant tasks with a mindset of curiosity, rather than avoidance, increase their productivity by up to 45 percent. Curiosity turns burden into opportunity.

So what does this mean?

Doing things we dislike will never be joyful. But it can be deeply rewarding.

When we stop resisting and start integrating these tasks into our creative flow, they lose their weight. They become part of the rhythm of our work. And with the right tools and mindset, they can even become sources of surprising satisfaction.

My best comparison is how I started off with zero ability to do a pull-up in 2016, and now I am able to repeat ten at a time. Consistently working at something I used to dread has become a pleasure to repeat. Doing this over time, in small steps, has been tremendously rewarding. The same applies to those unpleasant tasks we first avoid, but then embrace over time with a step-by-step process that eliminates dread. Just like adding AI to your toolset in a supportive fashion can eliminate your tedious processes.

So next time you find yourself facing a task you would rather avoid, try this: pause. Breathe. Remind yourself that on the other side of this discomfort is progress, efficiency, and creative clarity. And if you need guidance, remember that there are ways to make this path smoother, and you do not have to walk it alone.

Want to learn how I do it?

👉 Interested in learning how to support your creative profession with AI? Join the course waitlist here.