Great suggestion.
One thing that worked well for me (but everybody is different) is that towards the end of my third year I got a job that had little to do with my PhD. I needed money and this job was 2.5 days a week and well paid. 1/5 https://twitter.com/economeager/status/1278031079031660544

Before getting the job, I was frustrated because I felt didn’t have the energy to fully concentrate on my thesis. I now realize that this is normal (at least for me), as I need time off to get new ideas. But at that point, I was upset because I felt that I was wasting time. 2/5

Getting the job solved the problem. The job was my time off (it was demanding, but it was also fun and, importantly, it had nothing to do with my thesis). I was not frustrated about it as I didn’t feel that it was wasted time (I needed the job to pay my bills). 3/5

The thesis became the exciting thing to do when the 2.5 days of work for money were over. My productivity went up, I was happier, and I bought a motorbike. I also ended up traveling to Tanzania for work, and that was extremely cool. 4/5

I was very lucky to get the right job at the right time (and with a great boss), but I think that Rachel is 100% right in saying that time NOT spent working on your thesis can be productive (of course, you also need to spend serious time working on your thesis) 5/5