Seventy-one percent of desk workers and executives agree that the late afternoon is the worst time for work, as productivity drops between 3 and 6 p.m., according to a survey by Salesforce subsidiary Slack and research firm Qualtrics. 

“It’s easy for us to assume that if you have an eight-hour workday, you’re going to be just as productive as you are at 8 a.m. at 3 p.m.,” said Christina Janzer, senior vice president of research and analytics at Slack, CNBC reported. “But that’s just simply not true.”

Janzer suggested that one way to overcome the 3 p.m. slump is to take a micro-break, even as short as five minutes. “Taking a short break … can help wake your brain up and transition that afternoon slump into more of a productivity zone,” said Janzer. Disengaging for even a few minutes can keep one from getting bored and help to recover from any incidents that may have occurred earlier in the day, she said.

CNBC reported that a research paper, “Don’t Stop the Music,” Please: The Relationship between Music Use at Work, Satisfaction, and Performance,” found that listening to music at work can boost concentration, mood and performance.

Just as music can motivate someone during a workout, it can “do the same before [a] 3 p.m. presentation,” said Carson Tate, author of “Work Simply: Embracing the Power of Your Personal Productivity Style,” in an interview with CNBC Make It. Harvard neuroscientist Srini Pillay, a musician, said that “familiar music,” or songs that the listener enjoys and knows best, are the “most effective” for maximizing concentration.

Saving easy work for the afternoons, such as finishing quick administrative tasks, can also help someone do a better job, said Janzer. Tasks such as organizing an inbox “are just as important as finishing a presentation, for example, but might be less frustrating,” she said. “Productivity looks different for everyone. If afternoons are not your strong suit, there’s probably a different type of work you can accomplish that requires less deep thinking.”