I think January gets far too much credit. We treat January 1 as if something magical happens at midnight and suddenly we're ready to change our habits, our businesses, our health, our relationships, our finances (all at the same time, apparently).
Sometimes you need rest. Sometimes you need perspective. Sometimes you need purpose and contribution. The challenge is knowing the difference.
We've been taught to think about sabbaticals as something extraordinary. Professors take them. Executives negotiate them. People take them between careers. They're usually long, carefully planned, and often happen after years of relentless work.
For years, I operated by one rule: if I couldn't get a big, uninterrupted block of time, three or four hours, door closed, nothing else competing for my attention, I wasn't going to get anything done.