Ideally, there would be no fretting about finding equilibrium between ‘work’ and ‘life’, but isn’t it almost impossible to get a fresh perspective without stepping back to reassess every once in a while?
Learning about how to pause opens whole worlds of possibilities, and this book is full of anecdotes and tools to help you do just that.
The pleasure is realising that Robert Poynton is offering suggestions to make pausing achievable. Daily habits such as walking, writing and drawing begin to shift thinking. A pause can be as short as a single breath or last months. Knowing that there will be a way for you to pause is very encouraging.
Of course we ‘are not a To Do list’, but the relentless forward momentum of our super-fast age can make each day’s tasks insurmountable. The need to pause is fundamental and beneficial. As author and columnist Dov Seidman observes:
‘When you press the pause button on a machine it stops. But when you press the pause button on human beings, they start.’
Of course it’s easier to take time out when you’re physically removed from day to day habits. This view at Timber House on Skye, helps me to reset. A main point I want to remember from this book is about expectations. Having an unrealistic list of broad, unspecific goals is counter to the spirit of a pause. Future retreats are going to be lighter hearted!
Do/Pause: You Are Not a To Do List by Robert Poynton.
Found my copy at the The Modern Croft in Oban…
The Do Book Co. publishes a useful series with valuable lessons and reminders about how to live our best life. One of their readers described Do/Pause as a brain massage.
Robert Poynton is a thoughtful chap and has also written a book about improvisation for The Do Book Co.
Happy pausing.
