I'm the same way as you. I hate drills, they bore me to tears. So I don't do drills. Instead what I do is figure out a way to practice that's actually performance.
So, for example if I'm studying chord inversions and substitutions, rather than drill through them all, I'll play along with a recording of some standard and I'll have a lead sheet for that standard. Then I'll set myself challenges based on that music:
- Comp as written on the lead sheet at all the positions of the guitar:
- Comp with all chords open (if possible) at the nut
- Comp with closed chords at all possible frets
- Comp with closed chords moving up and/or down the neck
- Comp with different string sets (1-2-3, 3-5-6, ...)
- Do chord substitutions for all the comps above.
If I'm studying lead techniques, I'll first lay down a groove on a looper and then improvise using the lead techniques. I may start with a standard or original and just play it straight, then as I get warmed up, start messing with the tunes using the techniques I want to study: hammer-ons, pull-offs, scales, permuted arpeggios, etc.
Life is short. Have fun.