The clearest view of your work often comes right after you step away. It doesn’t last long.

Like many of you, today’s my last day of work before the break. I’ll be offline until mid-January, and then heading straight into a long-planned sabbatical in Paris - three months of language school, dark and cold days, many pastries... to say I am excited is something of an understatement.

One of the reasons I love travelling is that it nudges my brain out of its well-worn grooves. What’s encouraging is that you don’t need a long-haul flight to access that shift. You can recreate many of the same effects in the middle of your ordinary week. Here are five ways travel helps your brain, and how to bring those benefits home.

Imagine two circles. One represents you, one represents your role at work. How much overlap is healthy? Here’s an exercise to help you answer that question.