The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 plus 3 letter word TAKE TIME OFF
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
T
A
K
E
T
I
M
E
O
F
F
More clues leading to the result TAKE TIME OFF
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "to do something different for a while" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case to do something different for a while = take time off.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.