Perform a radical meetings audit: Ruthlessly edit your daily and weekly meeting habits. Our calendars are one of the most cluttered and habitual (read unconscious) pockets inside our organizations. I am constantly surprised at how dysfunctional our calendars really are when we get under the hood. Here are a few simple steps to start:

Go through and make all your 30-minute meetings 20-25 minutes and make your 60-minute meetings 45 minutes to allow for micro-breaks within your work day for a quick recharge.
In that time you just got back, do not do work and ask your teammates to also refrain.
In places of work, you can breathe, walk outside, shut your eyes, get sunlight, meditate for 2-5 minutes at your desk, or call a loved one to connect. There is a multitude of research out there about the power of microbreak. Turns out, you don't need a lot of time to contribute to huge neurobiological shifts in how your body feels at the end of the day.
Require anyone requesting a meeting from you to have a clear and unambiguous goal for the meeting and to state that at the outset. Moral of the story: we land where we point our vessel. Be intentional about how to focus your meetings.

Leverage autonomy as a motivational fuel: Many leaders and organizations underestimate how much autonomy fuels motivation. And not just any old motivation, either. Autonomy fuels intrinsic motivation, the holy grail of motivation, because intrinsically motivated people don't need external factors to keep them engaged. Make it a priority to create pockets of autonomy for your employees where they have flexibility over their calendaring/scheduling, some choice in what projects they spend their time on, and freedom to create boundaries that work for their lifestyle needs. Can we give an employee everything they want, all the time? No. But can we drastically change the way we approach certain aspects of our workplace culture and provide more choice, autonomy, and flexibility for employees to reduce burnout and rumination? Yes.

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