uphill work

What desperate uphill work it was to read them, a regular exercise of self-denial every morning!

Forming moral habits is usually uphill work anyway, in that we have instincts to overcome.

This was no easy task; and even now it forms very uphill work indeed.

The Epigoniad, I hope, will do, but it is somewhat uphill work.

We now came in for a spell of really bad weather, which made the uphill work very laborious.