Heard of a pomodoro? Look it up. And try these two things to increase productivity.

Most of us would like to have more focus and be more productive during the day. Even better, we all seek to be more productive every day without experiencing the effects of burnout or exhaustion.

Burnout affects everyone, entry-level employees and C-suite executives alike. No industry is immune. In 2019, the World Health Organization classified burnout as a legitimate medical diagnosis. The WHO defines burnout as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”

Two keys to being more productive without the burnout

How can we be more productive during the day while at the same time curtailing the habits that lead to burnout and “chronic workplace stress”?

1. Step away from your screen

According to one 2019 survey of 1,057 U.S. office workers, 87 percent of professionals spend most of their workday staring at screens: an average of seven hours a day. This is before Covid! Our laptops and devices are vital for productivity, but how many of us consciously step away from our screens in practice? Taking regular breaks from screens and devices is essential. This study found that “employees who take breaks every 90 minutes report a higher level of focus and productivity.” So, close your laptop and take a quick walk outside. This allows your brain to recharge for your next task.

2. Work in focused intervals

In a similar vein, experts studying the science of human performance have concluded that rest is key to top performance. If you’re cut from the mold of pushing yourself harder and harder to achieve more and more, the experts say, you only have it half right.

When you achieve the right balance of pushing yourself through hard work with the rest and recovery you need for that hard work to absorb you can improve on whatever it is you’re doing.

In addition to the seven or eight hours of adequate sleep that so many entrepreneurs and CEOs neglect, taking smart breaks during your workday, and having longer periods of downtime are keys to being more productive. In other words, if you can step back and give yourself five to 10 minutes of rest for every hour you work, that allows your really hard, stressful periods to be more productive. Adopting this interval-based approach to productivity can transform the workplace.

One tech company I’ve previously written about has worked this approach to perfection. Their most productive workers spend, on average, 52 minutes engrossed in their work (they call these “sprints”). You’ll find these people working in a state of flow with intense purpose and will. This is followed by a 17-minute rest period, which prepares their brain for the next 52-minute sprint of high productivity.