No matter how hard we try, at times it is just impossible to complete that job you know you need to do. It could be just filing some paperwork, or working on a new proposition or even just updating your website’s blog page. Whatever the job may be, some of us will just do anything else in order to put it off. Obviously this can cause productivity in the workplace to drop and businesses need their level of output to be as high as possible at all times. With this in mind, here are a few tips to help you avoid procrastination.

1. Make sure you working in the right environment

This might not be that easy for everyone to change. For instance if you work in an office you won’t have too much control over the environment around you in which you work. However, if you are a remote worker or a freelancer, then choose your location wisely. Don’t sit on the sofa at home with the TV on and expect your work to flow. Get yourself in an environment where you can concentrate and focus.

2. Know when you get your best work done

Not everybody suits the 9-5 ritual. Some people aren’t productive in the mornings and will spend those hours dithering until they have lunch before they get started on work. It’s not a valid excuse for procrastination to say you’re not a morning person. If this is the case, then figure the times you do work to your optimum and stick to it.

3. Learn how to automate

Sometimes you will just have too many little jobs on at the same time to be able to think straight – why not get smarter about your work. For things like Twitter or Facebook updates, why not spend 1 hour per week scheduling in your posts in Buffer  and then only worry about your social presence one a week? CRM systems like Salesforce or Zoho are advanced enough these days that can automatically send invoice reminders to your clients, or email updates of a new product you’re going to launch. Automating your work can be a massive time saver, especially to small businesses, and make your huge workload seem much less daunting.

4. Set yourself strict deadlines to keep

Deadlines are good, they give you a timeframe in which you need to work within to complete your work. If for whatever reason you don’t have a deadline for the work you are doing then you should set yourself one and stick to it. Working to a deadline gives you a sense of direction of how urgent a task is. If there is no time when you need to finish your job then you will just keep putting it off and off. Set yourself milestone reminders in your phone or your email of where you should be up to and when you need to be finished by.

5. Put your phone away

Mobile phones are now an essential part of the business world. Everything is either available on mobile or moving to mobile, however phones can be a huge distraction. Sure you may have your work email on there and get important updates – but you also have quick access to WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and whatever other interesting apps and games you might have. Unfortunately, no matter how much we love them and have much of a necessity phones have become to our daily lives, they are a huge hindrance on productivity! Put your phone away and see the piles of work begin to disappear.

6. Don’t have dozens of tabs open on your browser.

It’s so easy when you are scrolling through Facebook or Twitter to just click on links that sound interesting and then leave those open on your computer. However, these are just distractions. Pages and pages of articles to distract you from the core activities you need to do. Try having an absolute maximum of 5 tabs at any one point then just see how much easier you find do your work!

7. Learn how to say “no”

“The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say “no” to almost everything.” Warren Buffet.

You don’t have to be afraid of saying “no” to other people in the office, it’s not offensive and it won’t come across as being rude. Being able to refuse more work from others shows people that you are assertive and busy enough with your own responsibilities, whilst it also lets you finish your work in a quicker timeframe and maybe once you have finished all your work, then go back and offer your assistance.

8. Create a progress chart

Get a big white board, pop it up in a highly visible place on your wall and clearly write down everything you need to do. This way people will see how busy you are and not want to distract you, and you will always have a reminder of where you are up to in progressing through all your jobs. Additionally a progress chart will ensure that you won’t forget a smaller task that you need to do.

9. Don’t be too proud to ask to for help if you need it

Sometimes the amount you have on can be too overwhelming and that’s what prevents you from getting all your work started. So have the guts to step up and ask for help – share some of your workload so that you can really focus your mind on a few core tasks and get them completed to the best of your ability.

10. Remember the feeling of achievement you get when you complete a job

What better feeling in your job is there than completing a huge piece of work to a great standard? The waves of relief, pride and achievement you get is pretty difficult to top in the office – so why not harness this feeling and strive to get it more regularly? By remembering how great it feels to tick a task off your checklist you will always push yourself to accomplish that again and again!