What shift in your DM'ing has had the best results at the table?

Like the title says - I want to know what small shifts in the ways you prepare for, run or even think about your game have had positive results?

I really want to hear from the community on this but for myself my picks are

1. Focussing on planning sessions over long arcs.

2. Giving players in game downtime to explore and make stuff up.

I could unpack those a bit but I'd rather hear from other DM/GM's about what's made their games better.