Thanks to a work culture where being busy is treated like a badge of honour, many of us use our productivity as an indicator of our self-worth.

We define ourselves by the goals we’ve ticked off, the side hustles we’ve nailed, the extra responsibilities we’ve been given at work – and we beat ourselves up for still not doing enough. Cue evenings spent hunched over our desks, squinting at a laptop screen, as we desperately try and live up to some unrealistic standard of efficiency.

No wonder that burnout – defined by the World Health Organisation as chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed – is on the rise. Recent research from Future Forum found that workplace stress is higher than it was two years ago, with 40% of the 10,243 full-time workers surveyed from across the United States and the United Kingdom reporting that they felt burnt out; women and workers under 30 were found to be feeling especially drained.

Could adding a ‘15% buffer’ to your work day help make you more productive?