I started a paid six month sabbatical in December 2019. It worked out a bit different to what I expected, for all of the obvious reasons, but was still very goo

I started a paid six month sabbatical in December 2019. It worked out a bit different to what I expected, for all of the obvious reasons, but was still very good. I followed some advice from my collection of personal and professional mentors, which brutally summarised were: - Focus on family and friends (work had consumed much of my attention for 8 years so this was very positive for my relationships) - Do (bad) art, write, draw, make music, paint etc to both have fun and to enable brain plasticity - Ask myself some questions before the sabbatical about my priorities in life, love and work, write them down and then seal the envelope and not think about them until I opened it at the end of the sabbatical - Work on my health - Complete a couple of personal projects I am a much happier, well-rounded professional as a result achieving much more impact in more complex environments than ever before, and I have quadrupled my TC in the three years afterwards while decreasing my workload. Being away was also fairly useful for my direct reports' growth, I think. At home, things went from good to great too. Partner happy, pets happy, friends happy, me happy. I feel incredibly fortunate that the sabbatical (and everything else that enabled it, and surrounded such a kind and generous offer from my management) took place.