diff --git a/src/tools.cpp b/src/tools.cpp
index 13c6530..a6e0da3 100644
--- a/src/tools.cpp
+++ b/src/tools.cpp
@@ -1388,7 +1388,22 @@ get_human_readable_timestamp(uint64_t ts)
     return std::string(buffer);
 }
 
+void
+pause_execution(uint64_t no_seconds, const string& text)
+{
+
+    cout << "\nPausing " << text
+         << " for " << no_seconds << " seconds: "
+         << flush;
+
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < no_seconds; ++i)
+    {
+        cout << "." << flush;
+        std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::seconds(1));
+    }
 
+    cout << endl;
+}
 
 }
 
diff --git a/src/tools.h b/src/tools.h
index cef73df..e3b9372 100644
--- a/src/tools.h
+++ b/src/tools.h
@@ -333,6 +333,9 @@ calc_median(It it_begin, It it_end)
 }
 
 
+void
+pause_execution(uint64_t no_seconds, const string& text = "now");
+
 }
 
 #endif //XMREG01_TOOLS_H