I did an unintentional one-year sabbatical/gap year after finishing grad school, because I didn't find the kind of work that I was looking for. Most of that time, I worked temp jobs (at a summer camp and printing company), so I finished with the same amount of savings that I started with. During that time, I also did a lot of thinking and research about what my next rational step would be, but what actually happened is that one night I got a crazy (but feasible) idea, and followed through on it.
Later, I wrote an ebook called The Serendipitous Sabbatical, which is on smashwords.com for $1.99. It's written from an explicitly Christian viewpoint, so it may or may not be of interest to you. According to the Bible, the sabbatical year was invented by God. It does seem like we really need (as humans) to periodically step away from the daily grind and reconsider where we are going, even if it doesn't make economic sense. (In the biblical sabbatical, God promises to provide through the sabbatical year and until the normal labor of the following year comes to fruition.)