This is reasonable advice but it carries the assumption that "simplest is easiest". It is in hindsight. People sometimes say "It's easy to make a complicated solution for a simple problem, but not the other way around," and it's painfully true, as Rube Goldberg noticed. But of course that means we actually have a real challenge if we get our priorities straight.

There are still tedious/repetitive things that come up, though, and if the repetition is bad enough, then there are opportunities to do something clever... But again: Can it be done simply enough to make it worthwhile? Another challenge.

And sometimes you just gotta do the dirty work dirty, and hang in there. Admittedly that is part of any job done well, in the long run.