All the time in the world

A lot of time that can be put to good use gets wasted. This has always been the case, but lately I have experienced more of this.

I am in the middle of an atleast 3 month break between end of studies and joining a company. In these 3 months, there is mostly no agenda at hand. There are some important personal things that have to be done, but those cannot start before the professional job begins. So, I have to constantly search for things to do. I am not saying that there should have been no break at all, but for me personally, 1 month break is more than enough for everything. The preparations for starting at the job can be done in that time and the relaxation as well as all other things.

I tried finding an internship, but nothing came across that seemed suitable. I am sure there would have been opportunities for such an internship that would have been mutually agreeable. I also think that there might be atleast a few people like myself who have 2-3 month gaps due to various reasons. And that they would want to put it to some productive use. But I failed to find a forum where mapping of such opportunities and seekers is done. This leads to a lot of time being whiled away when both work is available and people are willing.

Another instance is the story of one of my friends. He was my batchmate at my undergrad. Now, he is working in a job that is far under-utilizing him. He spends only 7 hours or so in the office, 5 days a week and that includes the 1 hour daily use of office gym, in addition to having lunch, snacks etc. He has been working here for a few years and things have gotten from bad to worse, with the time he spends in office decreasing every time I ask him about it.

Here, I guess, there is a combination of lacking on both sides - the company not trying to find the true potential and give work accordingly, and my friend not actively pursuing newer opportunities / assignments and remaining happy with the lifestyle. In my opinion, again a huge waste of precious time.