Do Pause

Machines are designed to run constantly; people aren’t. Our coping mechanisms are meditation apps, weekend breaks and annual holidays, but things soon revert. To prosper, we need a more sustainable approach — an ability to pause.


Do Pause looks at the importance of this subtle yet powerful idea to communication, creativity, relationships — as well as our wellbeing and sanity. With practical tools to help you create new habits or make more significant lifestyle choices, you’ll discover ways to:

Reset and regenerate
Deepen your thinking and experiences
Take back control of your time
Reconnect with other people — and yourself

From taking a breath to taking a sabbatical, a pause can be many things. And the good news is, even just a small pause every now and again can make a real and lasting difference.


Robert Poynton lives in an off-grid, solar-powered house just outside the small town of Arenas de San Pedro in rural Spain. By way of contrast, he also spends a significant amount of time in Oxford, where he is an Associate Fellow of the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford. His work there is practical not academic — he designs and runs executive education programmes, helping senior leaders understand and work with complex change, via a playful approach developed from improvisational theatre. Many of his friends regard his entire career as one long pause. He is also the author of Do Improvise (Do Books, 2013).