How to Survive (Almost) Anything: Take tasks that require no thought and re-invent them so that you have to think. This bears repeating: Survival is not about equipment and training alone. It’s about what’s in your mind and your emotional system. Living in a low-risk environment dulls our abilities. We must make a conscious effort to learn new things, to force ourselves out of our comfort zones. [This applies to so many things… despite our deep desire to create continuity in our lives, it is best for us if things keep changing and we keep learning and adapting. It’s better from almost every view point I can think of (diet, exercise, thought, etc., etc.) It’s the same lesson I learned as a musician years ago. Adaptation is something that can be practiced.]
turnings :: daniel berlinger
Finest Quality Mayhem :: Reckless Precision
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turnings :: daniel berlinger 
This is a good idea in some cases… but making more work of something that doesn’t deserve it is waste.
Take “no thought” tasks and automate them so you don’t have to do them anymore. This creates time to do new life-invigorating tasks.
(I get the point of your post and agree, I just saw the agile tag and wanted to put the true agile coaching spin on it.)
I don’t disagree with the automate “no thought” tasks concept, but that’s not the same as training your brain for adaptation by doing complex things like writing with your “weak” hand, or working on a skill that you’re poor at in order to get better at it.
If the purpose of “making more work” of something is to learn (and practice adaptation) then it not “waste” but a value choice which seems to me is perfectly in line with goal of agile (adaptation to changing values).
I don’t see how there can even be a “true agile coaching spin” but maybe I don’t understand what you mean by that.