Here is another valuable Management Tip of the Day from Harvard Business Review. To sign up for a free subscription to any/all HBR newsletters, please click here.

To procrastinate may be human but it’s not very rewarding. If putting off tasks is hindering your performance or making you unhappy, try these three things:

1. Identify what you put off. When you find yourself ignoring or delaying a task, ask yourself why. Knowing what you tend to delay can help break the cycle and prevent future procrastination.

2. Set deadlines. Break up tasks into smaller chunks and then create a schedule with clear due dates for each part.

3. Increase the rewards. Tasks with rewards far in the future are easy to put off. To make a task feel more immediate, focus on the short-term rewards. If there aren’t any, insert your own. Treat yourself to a coffee break or a quick chat with a co-worker once you’ve finished a task.

Today’s Management Tip was adapted from “Stop Procrastinating…Now” by Amy Gallo.

To read that article and join the discussion, please click here.

Also, you may wish to check out the new book Management Tips from Harvard Business Review, based on HBR’s Management Tip of the Day by clicking here.