Sabbatical - what would you do differently?

I’m close to 40 and have spent the last 15 years in the corporate world. My most recent role was as a director for two years at a major consulting firm.

I was recently laid off, and instead of rushing into the next role, I feel this may be the right moment to stop, reflect, reset, and possibly take a sabbatical.

For those who did something similar around this career stage: how did you use that time? What helped the most? What would you definitely do again and what would you avoid?