First, I agree. Second, I don't know if I would call it a mistake as much as non-optimal. I would say that getting the boring & predictable ones out of the way

First, I agree. Second, I don't know if I would call it a mistake as much as non-optimal. I would say that getting the boring & predictable ones out of the way frees you from keeping them in mind. This allows you to address the ones that "go different every time" without keeping track of the details. Removing the boring/predictable stuff also means you can enter flow much more quickly (and regularly). I find that for me programming is more of a psychological game than a technical one. The ability to quickly get into flow is of very high value to me. However, in other domains and with other people "standardizing" the "offbeat" task may yield greater productivity gains. XKCD made a comic about automating task -> https://xkcd.com/1205/ https://xkcd.com/1205/