The Art of Being Busy Doing Nothing

I never know what to say when people ask me, “What do you actually do every day?” The truth is, I’m very busy. Very, very busy… filling my time doing nothing of substance, and nothing remotely important.

I do, however, manage to do something new every day. What do I feel like doing this morning? Let’s try out a boxing class. And how about this afternoon? I want to go on a cycling pub crawl with my friends. Free wine tasting tomorrow? I’m there.

Having the time and space to do whatever I please is something I’ve never experienced before. Even during the summer between the end of high school and the start of uni, I didn’t feel like I had complete freedom, but I think that was due to my youthful naivety and lack of self-confidence. Now, it feels as if my free will has been reborn, and I have used and abused it since being freed from the shackles of the education system.

This is the first time in my life where I have simply nothing to do. No one to answer to. Procrastination doesn’t even exist, because I have nothing to put off doing. I am simply wandering aimlessly around Melbourne, exploring what it has to offer and, essentially, just eating, shopping, and working a silly little hospitality job.

Through this, however, I have met some very special people. I have slowly gathered a bubble of friends through various different means — parties, workplaces, hostel laundry rooms — and I have built lifelong connections with a select few.

Making friends at this stage in your life is not often discussed. It feels very different to school or uni, where you find your tribe among those in close proximity to you, and where people who share similar interests to you are more easily accessible. Here, I feel I’ve had to actively seek friendships — targeting certain individuals who are non-judgemental and fun to be around.

Through this method of meeting people, I’ve lost all self-awareness — much to the amusement of Frey and Lucas, who’ve witnessed an extensive amount of unfiltered yapping and attempts at bonding with uninterested individuals.

It was just Frey and me who came out here together, and until we started making an active effort to chat and interact with strangers, we were a two-man duo who kept to ourselves and did everything together. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had a whale of a time with each other, and I feel very lucky that we got to spend this time of our lives together. Eighteen years on from when we first met, we know each other so well that we’ve developed the ability to read each other’s minds — often knowing how the other is feeling or thinking before needing to say anything.

Since Lucas arrived in Melbourne, we’ve seen each other every single day, which has certainly quelled our shared boredom. Whether it’s been simply picking something up from each other’s house, going on a long bike ride, or taking coaches all the way up the Australian east coast, we’ve managed to build up a three-month streak of meeting up. As naturally competitive people, we’ve created an unspoken bet with ourselves that we can’t break the pattern (except under very necessary circumstances), and we’ve entertained each other during tedious times. I’m very grateful for his presence here in Melbourne.

Exercise has also filled up a lot of my time. I’ve tried and tested a bunch of new sports, like tennis, boxing, swimming, and yoga — developing a newfound love for a variety of new activities. I’ve always led a very active lifestyle, as I find it very hard to sit still for long periods of time, but I have come to enjoy exercise more, rather than feeling like I have to do it. Movement is incorporated so effortlessly into the Australian lifestyle. It’s carried out in parallel to going out in the evening and prioritised alongside work schedules.

On the whole, being bored has taught me how to live in the present — something I’ve not been so good at in the past. I’m a natural planner; adding things to Google Calendar is my guilty pleasure. But I’ve become better at going with the flow, and I’ve learned to appreciate that some of the best memories happen spontaneously!