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The unexpected gift I received from taking 5 weeks off.\nI just got back from a\xa0five-week-long sabbatical, and holy smokes, sweet friend \u2014 it was so much different than I thought it would be.\nNow, if you have been with me for a while (or listened to\xa0Sabbatical 101: How I\u2019m Prepping for 30 Days Away From My Business), you know that taking an extended time away from my business is something that I have been wanting to do for\xa0years.\xa0It took a lot of\xa0preparation, hard work, and countless lattes\xa0\u2014 but I made it happen!\xa0\nGoing into it\xa0I had some expectations about how things would go. I knew that I would have the time of my life at Chloe\u2019s wedding in Mexico and that I\u2019d create some really great memories with my family at our new lake house. I also knew that being away from my business might cause some anxiety, but heck, that\u2019s what skinny margs are for, right?\xa0\nBut something happened over the course of my sabbatical that I didn\u2019t expect. As I got further and further away from my business,\xa0I realized A LOT about myself that I wasn\u2019t necessarily ready to confront. There was an emotional and eye-opening component to my time away that I was not prepared for \u2014 and if you know me, you know I like to be prepared.\nNow, don\u2019t get me wrong, I am SO glad that I took this sabbatical, and in the end,\xa0I walked away with a life-changing gift\u2026\n\u2026 But would I do it again? You\u2019ll just have to tune in to find out.\nHere\u2019s a glance at this episode\u2026\n\n[03:01] I just finished my five-week sabbatical!\n\n[04:47] The good: I loved spending so much time with Hobie. I went at a slower pace and took the time to really take care of myself.\n\n[07:03] The bad: It was really difficult to disconnect. After Mexico, my head started to spiral around work. I had anxiety, which was alarming to me.\xa0\n\n[09:26] The ugly: Was that I realized that my identity was in my work. I felt restless when not checking things off of a list. I started to get FOMO.\xa0\n\n[11:23] The flip side of identifying with my work so strongly is that I really love my work and feel great about it. I love my team, my students, and all of you listeners!\n\n[12:33] The gift: I need to explore who I am beyond my work. I need to feel loved, supported, and accomplished even if I don\u2019t have a thriving business.\xa0\n\n[13:17] Would I take five weeks off again. No! Five weeks is too much. I\u2019m thinking two weeks each quarter might be more fitting for me personally.\n\n[20:09] You might wonder how I was even able to take so much time off of my business. I\u2019ve created a program called\xa0Systems That Scale\xa0which is all about how I run my business.\n\nRate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts\n\u201cI love Amy and Online Marketing Made Easy.\u201d