Crush Procrastination With These Simple

You have plenty of distractions at work that can take you away from your daily tasks and cause you to procrastinate. Instead of losing productivity at work, prevent procrastination with these simple tips that can help you get more out of your day at the office.

Just Do It

Like Nike says, "Just do it." Rather than stare at your computer screen wondering what task to do next, just dive in and start working. Remember, you only have a limited time to get things done at the office. Prevent procrastination and ease the stress you have at work one day at a time. You'll eventually get that large project done after working on it in incremental steps.

Start Small

If your tasks take less than two minutes, do those first to prevent procrastination. Checking your inbox and voice messages, going by your supervisor's office, and saying hello to your teammates at the office can all take two minutes or less. Then, you can prioritize your day based on what you find out in those tasks. Once you check your inbox, you see what messages require your attention first. Talking to your supervisor lets him tell you whether you have important projects to work on and checking in with each teammate lets them know you're here and ready to work.

Work Up to Something Bigger

Use the same two-minute rule to start bigger tasks and keep the momentum going. It takes just two minutes to start a new habit. You cannot take a leadership development class in two minutes, but you can take two minutes to register for one. Although a big project at work cannot be done in two minutes, you can start the next major task in that project in just two minutes. When you start something in two minutes, you stick with it to prevent procrastination.

The two-minute rule, at least on bigger tasks, isn't about how well you perform or the quality of the work. It's all about getting started and keeping it going. Once you start a project for two minutes, the idea is that you keep going with it.

Make Bigger Projects Into Smaller Chunks

Consider taking bigger tasks and breaking them down into smaller chunks. You have a 30-page report due to your supervisor at the end of the week. You have no idea how long it may take to do the research, but you prevent procrastination by starting with the introduction. Take 15 minutes to write the introduction of the report. Then take another 15 minutes to write the next section, and 15 minutes to write another part, and so on and so forth. Eventually, those 15-minute segments lead to an entire report.

Eliminate Distractions

Eliminate distractions at work as much as possible. Close your door, turn off your personal smartphone, and remove the shortcut to your internet browser from your computer's desktop. Find a buddy at the office who can keep you on task and return the favor for your procrastination buddy and keep him in check.

Prevent procrastination with these simple tips. Eventually, you'll find yourself getting more done at the office. You might even catch the notice of your supervisor for a promotion.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Felsted at Flickr.com