What to do when there’s nothing to do

For me, when I don’t have anything scheduled and there’s “nothing to do” I stop, sit, and actually do nothing. These times are few and far between with work, family, and other responsibilities. When they do happen, I don’t fill the time with meaningless activities. Okay, sometimes I do, but most of the time I do nothing. No inputs (books, movies, music, etc.) I let my mind wander, and eventually it will grab on to some idea that I haven’t explored before. I’ll find the solution to some problem that’s been nagging me, so then I go solve it. I’ll discover that I’m curious about a skill I’ve heard about but haven’t learned yet. By using this method (usually following some major life change) I’ve explored Ballroom Dancing, Billiards, Card Magic, Video Game creation, Ukulele, Guitar, and too many programming languages to count. The quiet mind is a wonderful tool, if you let it do it’s job.