# Planning a Work-Free Week: One Chief of Staff’s Unique Approach to Team Gatherings

_By Sarah Maloy — April 3, 2026 · Playbook · 6 mins read_

> storyarb Chief of Staff Lauren Layton planned a work-free week for the full team — with a secluded venue, on-site activities, and a budget under $75k for 16 people. Here’s how she did it.

People spend plenty of time working. Remote employees are pretty much always online.

But how much time do your employees get to spend *disconnected* from everything: their phones, their work, their usual responsibilities?

When storyarb Chief of Staff Lauren Layton was planning the company’s [first full-team gathering](https://thestandard.storyarb.com/p/how-we-owned-the-internet), she wanted to create an environment that encouraged everyone to really get to know each other.

Her planning included a secluded venue with on-site activities, manual control of major expenses, and natural opportunities for cross-departmental interaction – and she kept the budget under $75k for 16 people.

Here’s how she put together a work-less event that brought workers closer together while minding the company budget.

## Connecting as a remote team

> "It’s a big deal to ask a full team to disconnect for a week, and there are a lot of considerations that go into that in terms of coverage and planning and how that’s communicated to clients."

Storyarb’s weekly deliverables had to be assigned earlier to ensure a work-free week, which did lead to some work overload ahead of time. But part of Layton’s job was to make sure no one’s workload got *too* heavy before or after the offsite.

And that was only part of the planning. Layton also had to manually book around 50 flights (including connecting flights on both sides) for team members, dream up ways that different departments could interact naturally, manage per-person costs without sacrificing experiences, and offer up a number of different activities for different preferences.

In doing this, she aimed to create a “summer camp for adults.”

> "I liked the idea of almost having a summer camp theme where it’s a little bit nostalgic. It feels like you’re coming to camp and meeting your bunkmates."

Sticking to that theme, she chose a secluded property that had a lot of on-site activities for everyone to connect around. She also chose venues that are “nice, but not stuffy” in order to avoid dress codes and any potential barriers between people.

## Putting together a budget-friendly, people-first gathering

Layton shares her approach for bringing all of storyarb to camp, from the timeline to the brass tacks.

#### Step 1: Venue selection and budget allocation (3-4 months before)

“I knew right away that I wanted to find a venue, because I knew they’d book up super quickly,” says Layton.

She researched and compared different properties that offered the seclusion and breadth of on-site activities she was looking for. Once that list was compiled, she [compared the distance of those locations from major airports](https://www.flight-estimator.workgrounds.com/) and looked for direct flight availability. She of course made sure the properties in question had some “mass appeal” across all the employees.

Then, Layton picked the best-fitting venue with all the costs clearly marked.

#### Step 2: Flight coordination and booking (2-3 months before)

Once she had the venue location confirmed, Layton mapped out all of her team members’ departure cities and the best arrival times.

She created spreadsheets comparing connecting flight options using Google Flights, and made sure to control arrival/departure times so she could set up a shuttle for team members to use. Then she “manually booked over 50 flights.”

> "It was definitely not efficient. I just didn’t know of a better way to do that."

But now she does! In the future, storyarb can use the Workgrounds [flight estimator](https://www.flight-estimator.workgrounds.com/) to streamline this process – no spreadsheets or manual work needed.

#### Step 3: Program development and activity planning (1-2 months before)

In the event planning stage, Layton met with every single team member for 15 minutes to answer any questions and to hear if there were any ideas they had or things they’d like to see at the team gathering – even something as simple as s’mores.

In order to satisfy some of the different suggestions she heard (and make sure there was something for everyone), Layton offered a number of different possible activities on the same day.

#### Step 4: Communication and on-site execution (2 weeks before through event)

An itinerary is both great and necessary, but Layton advises to include plenty of time for flexibility. And let team members know that if they need a moment to recharge, do their own thing, or take advantage of another activity, they’re encouraged to.

She also made sure to sit with other departments during meals and activities, leading by example so that other team members followed suit.

Afterward, she sent out a post-event survey to get feedback on everything from travel to activities to execution.

## Post-event reflections

**Team satisfaction:** “80% said it exceeded their expectations and that it was a super smooth experience,” Layton says.

**Cultural impact:** Teams have continued to reflect in Slack on the time they spent together, plus ideas from a brief pitch competition have been incorporated into Q4 planning.

**Operational insights:** Layton found the ground transportation to remote activity spots to be the toughest part to coordinate, and she also realized the important trade-off between direct flights and remote locations. She learned that the spread of activity preferences were wide too, validating the varied itinerary.

With thoughtful planning and a focus on genuine connection over corporate polish, Layton created a team retreat that brought storyarb’s remote workers together without breaking the bank. The week-long experience felt less like a work obligation and more like the kind of summer camp experience that keeps people talking long after they’ve returned home.