At the start of 2022, Chief People Officer at Airtable, Johanna Jackman, implemented what the team at Airtable calls "radical flexibility."

Part of that effort revolves around attacking team burnout with a Framework they refer to as "Focus Weeks." Airtable built this Framework on the idea of using a shorter work week where everyone is encouraged to cancel recurring meetings and focus on more dense, long-term work.

The goal of these weeks is to hit "reset," prioritize more critical tasks, and focus on heads-down work without having to cut through the noise of a traditional workweek.

From a scientific perspective, this focus on deep work allows the team at Airtable to down-regulate the body's nervous system and trigger a recovery response.

This same strategy has been used in professional sports teams leading up to significant events and Special Operations units before deployments. It can be a powerful stimulus to elicit a recovery adaptation while at the same time shifting the body from a state of fight or flight to a state of rest and recharge.

The next time your team is trending towards burnout, use this Framework for a short time to reduce hours, eliminate non-essential meetings, and allow your people the freedom to dive into some focused work.