Learning Moments

Building rhythm through small, meaningful pauses

The other day, I recommended Do Pause by Robert Poynton to an entire team. I had just revisited the small booklet from the Do Book series, and it felt immediately relevant—both personally and professionally.

Already the title is intriguing: Do Pause. A pause is not something you take—it is something you do. Something you choose.

The subtitle is refreshing: You Are Not a To-Do List. A reminder that life isn’t about ticking boxes—it’s about being human, noticing, and truly living each moment.

Poynton, a creativity teacher and fellow at Oxford’s Saïd Business School, works with leaders using improvisational theatre to help them navigate complexity. His message is refreshingly simple and deeply relevant: build pauses into daily life—to reset, reflect, and reconnect with yourself and others. Humans need intentional breaks to support well-being, creativity, and productivity.

“Pause is not just a means to an end, but an end in itself. It is an opportunity to experience time, life, and ourselves in a different way. There is more to life than getting things done.” – Robert Poynton in Do Pause.

What Is a pause?

If a pause is something we do, then what exactly are we doing?

Sometimes a pause is quiet and inward: sitting, listening, noticing, letting the mind wander. Other times it is active: walking, creating, journaling, or discovering something unexpected. Even when we appear to “do nothing,” a pause is “not nothing”. A pause is a small gap in the busyness where we breathe, ground ourselves, sense, and sharpen our intuition about what truly matters.

And because pauses can take so many forms—seconds or hours, silent or active—they become wonderfully curious creatures. Here’s where the fun begins: pauses carry a touch of mischief. They refuse to be just rest and instead open a door to something else entirely. As Poynton writes, “A pause allows something to happen which would otherwise not occur, and you never quite know what that will be.”

Why pause?

These mischievous little rebels are surprisingly powerful. They restore body, mind, mood, and creativity. They deepen presence and enrich relationships. A pause gives ideas room to incubate, invites serendipity, and draws attention to what we’d normally overlook. Think of the weight a speaker adds by pausing—or the charged silence in music. 

Pauses pull us into the present moment.

“A short pause can do a lot. It draws attention. It creates expectations and suspense. It adds weight. It can say something in its own right.” – Robert Poynton in Do Pause.

Pausing interrupts the momentum of “just keeping going,” and in doing so, it changes what’s possible. It creates an opening, a tiny portal to other options. Without it, we risk drifting along, like floating downstream in a rubber boat, even when we wanted to paddle elsewhere.

How to pause?

Pauses don’t need to be grand. A pause can be a single breath before opening a door, a two-minute gaze out the window, a stroll around the block, or a weekly retreat into a quiet corner of your life. They can be planned rituals—a “time-in” with your team—or accidental gifts, like a dog demanding a walk at exactly the wrong moment.

“A pause can continue to nourish you, even when it is behind you.” – Robert Poynton in Do Pause.

Over time, pauses form culture. They shape rhythm. They become part of how you live. You might even find your own “go-to slow places”—a lake, a forest path, a bench in the sun. Places where time moves differently and naturally slows you down.

Poynton’s invitation is ultimately simple: “Instead of trying to manage your time, you pay more attention to finding your rhythm. You can make time; for yourself.”

If a pause creates an opening to “something else entirely,” what might you discover in yours? Where are your go-to slow places—and when did you last visit them?

The book

Rebel with a Pause

What if the most rebellious thing you could do right now is… nothing at all?

We invite you to pause.

Join our next 30-minute pause session—gentle, unhurried, reflective. Everyone is welcome. This pause is free for now (until it naturally evolves into something else).

These sessions are part of Rebel with a Pause, a new project Ewen Le Borgne and I are quietly nurturing—an invitation to explore how moments of stillness can heal work culture and open space for what wants to emerge. This isn’t about “doing it right.” It’s about noticing what happens when we permit ourselves to breathe, to rest, to simply be.

If this whispers to you, we’d love to connect.

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The bit at the end

Exciting events on the horizon to support your exploration:

• This winter, join Street Wisdom in Alkmaar — cozy, inspiring, and full of surprises. Come rain, sun, or storm, we’ll explore the streets or find inspiration inside with a warm cup of tea. Find the dates and sign up here.
• Join the next Unhurried Conversation—a space to slow down, listen, and connect. We meet every 2nd Monday of the month. It’s free, and you’re warmly welcome. Sign up here.
• For more Learning Moments, subscribe to my newsletter and get timely updates straight to your inbox.

Reach out,  I’m always open for a chat.
Creatively,
Nadia

P.S.The paintings featured on the blog are my own.