https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/thinking-doesnt-have-to-feel-so-hard-2ba56d6d
What feels more challenging is when a task requires the brain to go against its usual habits. Cognitively demanding work, such as complex accounting or writing a nuanced email, often requires the coordination of many different brain regions in novel patterns, while silencing circuits that frequently fire together. “So we have to suppress our usual tendencies, while boosting pathways that are lower in strength,” says Braver.
In fact, studies suggest that we often overestimate the struggle and pain required to complete cognitive tasks. “When you’re thinking about a demanding task in the future, it often feels much worse than when you actually are engaged in the task,” Westbrook says. But this initial overestimation can lead us to procrastinate, or even avoid the task altogether.
“Studies suggest that if we can kind of get past that initial hurdle of starting a task, then thinking becomes easier,” he says.
Pay attention to the benefits of completing the task, instead of the effort required.
So the next time you’re struggling to start a task, stop focusing on all the pain it may involve or the consequences of failing. Instead, think about how good it will feel to finish it and the rewards that will follow. You can even promise yourself a little reward afterward.
A study published in the journal Nature Communications in 2022 suggests that one key to triggering flow is resolving uncertainty. To pump your motivation to write emails, for example, you could set a time limit: how many can you write in 15 minutes?
To make cognitively demanding tasks a habit, try to do them every day at the same time and in the same place. Add a ritual before you start, such as turning off your phone and launching an app to block distracting websites. “You’ll teach yourself that mental exertion pays off under these certain conditions,” Botvinick says. After a few weeks, concentrating deeply won’t just feel easier; it will actually be easier.