Deliberate Practice to Find Enjoyment in Purposeful Tasks
Our emotions are often the primary obstacle to our success… preventing us from consistently doing the useful things that make progress.
The key is to continually reform our emotional responses to tasks — dissolving procrastination, resistance, and excuse-making.
The secret to joyful productivity is learning how to find enjoyment in any activity — especially tasks that move your goals forward but aren’t naturally “fun” to do.
Our brains are so tricky! They often prioritize seemingly urgent, but less important tasks. This post will offer ways to learn this valuable meta-skill — being able to do what is important and worthwhile, no matter what it is, with consistent joy.
Muscle Memory — The Foundation of Deliberate Practice
Let’s start with the idea of muscle memory.
Consider this: you can walk and talk at the same time. But you weren’t born with either ability! Yet, you practiced both of these so much in your early years that it became muscle memory… completely natural to you.
Similarly, with practice, you can also learn to type without having to look at each letter on the keyboard. Yet another amazing skill, because it took a lot of practice but then became natural.
In fact, with enough practice, you can learn many sports and arts, even though they require the coordination of dozens of muscles at a moment’s notice.
These are all examples of muscle memory.
Through intentional repetition, any behavior can become instinctual for you.
This is the core of deliberate practice, a concept popularized by Anders Ericsson through his research on elite performers. He found that the most effective practice wasn’t just mindless repetition, but focused attention on specific areas for improvement, practicing them correctly until they became ingrained.
Examples of Deliberate Practice
Here are some examples that illustrate how deliberate practice can reshape our emotional responses and habits:
Energy Reboot Before Work: I wanted to solidify my habit of doing an Energy Reboot Practice whenever I start work at the computer. Otherwise, I tend to just plop down and start doing email or other less intentional activities.
So I used the idea of muscle memory to break that pattern.
I practiced this:
- I left the room.
- Then came back in (where the computer is).
- I sat down and, instead of the typical behavior of checking my email or whatever, I immediately did my 30-second energy reboot practice, and then got started on a purposeful task for 1 minute.
- I repeated this exercise two more times.
- The next morning, when I came to my computer to start work, I suddenly noticed a moment of choice before checking email — I was now consciously aware for a few seconds and could choose to do my Energy Reboot Practice.
- I had successfully inserted a conscious moment of choice within a pattern of behavior that had been habitual for a long time. And this was all with a few minutes of intentional practice!
The Kitchen Snack Swap: I used to habitually open the snack cupboard and eat junk food when I walked into the kitchen.
To break this pattern:
- I practiced walking past the snack cupboard,
- opening the refrigerator,
- taking out a carrot,
- washing it,
- taking a bite,
- drying it,
- and putting it back.
- I repeated this three times.
- The next time I went into the kitchen, I experienced that “choice moment” and chose the healthier option. This demonstrates how just a few minutes of deliberate practice can interrupt an ingrained habit.
Phone Usage Reset: When I pick up my phone, I tend to surf social media and lose track of time. Deliberate practice: Pick up the phone, open the Calendar app, and think for a moment about my next task. (For leisure, open the Kindle app and read a book for a minute.) Put down the phone. Then repeat that exercise 3 times.
Overcoming Fear: Psychologist Albert Bandura’s research provides a powerful example. He helped people overcome their fear of snakes through gradual, deliberate exposure. Patients started by watching videos of others handling snakes calmly. Then they progressed to being in the same room as snakes (in a container). Then they watched someone else handle a snake. And finally, they progressed to handling snakes themselves. This wasn’t hypnosis; it was conscious, deliberate practice that rewired their emotional response.
The 3-Step Formula for Deliberate Practice
These examples highlight a powerful principle: any behavior you want to change, you can, by using deliberate practice. Here’s the step-by-step process:
- Step 1: Decide on the New Behavior (and Visualize the Joyful Version). Clearly define the new behavior you want to cultivate. Get specific about it: for example, “when I sit down at the computer for work, I will immediately do a 30-second energy reboot.” Crucially, imagine yourself performing the task with joy. If you dread doing your taxes, for example, visualize yourself approaching the task with a mindful breath, a gentle smile, and genuine gratitude.
- Step 2: Practice it in the Context Where it Usually Happens (Progressive Exposure). Perform the new behavior in the actual environment where the old habit typically occurs. If the task feels overwhelming, break it down into smaller, manageable steps (like Bandura’s progressive exposure method).
- Step 3: Repeat that Practice 3 Times in a Row. Repeating the practice at least three times in a single session is key to starting to break the old pattern and create a new “muscle memory.” Three repetitions are often enough to create that crucial “moment of choice” where you can consciously choose a different response!
Applying Deliberate Practice to Any Task
This technique isn’t limited to simple habits. It can be applied to complex tasks and deep-seated fears:
- Making Videos: Perhaps you’ve wanted to make regular videos like I do, but you’re steeped in self-criticism and perfectionism. Practice by pressing the Record button, then consciously replacing any negative emotion with something you would enjoy, perhaps a feeling of genuine connection to a caring audience member, or perhaps a sense of adventure in the journey of your growth.
- Contacting Potential Clients: Perhaps you’ve been meaning to contact some potential clients but you’re anxious and fearful about rejection, even though you know that if you do contact them, some of them are likely to hire or refer you. Practice starting the contacting process and replacing any negative emotion with something you’d enjoy… perhaps imagining how grateful they (or someone they know) would be to hear that your service exists.
- Dealing with Technology: Instead of getting frustrated with tech problems, practice approaching the task with calmness and joy, breaking it down into small, manageable steps, and repeating the process with a positive mindset.
- Taxes, Bookkeeping, or Any “Dreaded” Task: Apply the same principle. Visualize the joyful version, break it down, and practice it three times, replacing resistance with appreciation.
A New Take on “Discipline”
This practice can replace the idea of “discipline” if you haven’t loved that word. Think of “discipline” as “joyful deliberate practice” — gentle practice. Instead of forcing yourself through unpleasant tasks, you’re reforming your emotional relationship to them.
Even deliberate practice itself takes practice! There will be mistakes. You’re human — which means you are both prone to failure and flexible enough to change. Give yourself grace, and come back again, to practice again. A little better each time, until your belief about yourself — your identity — shifts.
This is about becoming aware of your emotional state throughout the day. Notice when you’re not in joy during a task, and use that as a trigger to pause, and consciously reform your relationship to the task.
Practice Changes You (surprisingly quickly!)
Always remember: you are a bundle of habits, of muscle memory, both physical and emotional. Whatever you think you “are”, you can be radically different — if you are willing to practice a new way.
Just a few minutes of practice can set you on a new path.
You are truly flexible and can become anything you set your mind to.
The key is to keep returning to the practice.
You can learn to enjoy any task that is purposeful and productive, leading you towards your goals. This is the essence of joyful productivity!
Originally written in May 2021, Updated in March 2025.
