I have been living in the city now for three months. Three months of endless fun, new friends, cocktails and great coffee. And I have loved every single minute of it. Walking to work, trams to the shops, running around the lake and breakfast out on a Sunday. Every single minute. But this weekend I got to enjoy something else and it’s been a while since I got to enjoy this particular thing.

Nothing. I did nothing.

Of staying in on both Friday and Saturday nights, of watching mind numbing TV until you fall asleep, of eating entire blocks of chocolate to the point of feeling ill. Yes, I finally had a weekend, in the city, where I just got to veg out.

The art of doing nothing is actually quite hard to achieve. Getting it right takes patience, perseverance and stamina. You will get sick of your pyjamas and your couch. Keep going and the boredom will pass. The trick is finding something that can hold your attention but not make you think. My choice for this weekend was season 1 of Gossip Girl, a teen angst drama where the hardest thing to comprehend was why my DVD player refused to show it in full colour. Switch to plan B – the laptop, and away we go. 18 episodes of 42 minutes apiece, I put away four on Friday night, accompanied by pizza and chocolate. Yes, I ate the whole block (except the last two pieces, I was ‘full’) but it’s okay because it was fruit and nut. Its ok that this is how I justify it, the nutritional value of a few sultanas totally makes up for the sugar and fat content.

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With pyjamas on I settled in for my night on the couch and before I knew it, it was nearly midnight. I think one’s ability to pass the time without realising it when engaging in such mind numbing activity is directly related to the level of how badly the downtime was needed and mine was surely at an all time high. Ten hours of sleep later I awoke with the knowledge that this particular Saturday, I didn’t have to do anything.

I read lazily for a few hours, I went for a run to counteract the pizza and chocolate from the night before. Then without a second thought it was back to the box. Twelve episodes later (with an intermission for healthy dinner) it was midnight again and time to put the (now addicted to) Gossip Girl away.

Sunday was a different story – I breakfasted by the market (French Toast, divine) at the Red Star Café, I visited a girlfriend for coffee, I went Christmas shopping (very unsuccessful, I only bought a dress for me), I had dinner with my family. I even managed to fit in the last two episodes of Gossip Girl and round out season 1.

It might be some time before I get to practise the art of nothing again, so I made this one count. I feel refreshed, awake and alive – I’m ready to face the festive season with vigour and enthusiasm! Perhaps you should think about engaging in some nothing before the full brunt of Christmas steals your diaries and clogs your mailbox. I can highly recommend Gossip Girl, if that’s your thing, though I have heard good things about True Blood and Mad Men. These two are next on my list. Christmas list that is… I’m sure I will need some more nothing after the season of something.