No you don't have to stand still and do nothing, however, entering an instance or starting a leve will take you out of queue. I'd suggest doing FATEs, sidequests, hunting logs, or even just grinding while you are waiting. Also:

- Leveling crafting skills
- Do some of the quests that allow you to learn a new skill (ie, get the quest that allows you to dye clothing out of the way while waiting)
- Exploring new areas and attuning Aetherytes and Choco porters to make travel easier
- Find the gear merchants around your level and see when it's best to upgrade next, and then compare those NPC merchant prices to the prices on the AH for the same gear to spend the least amount of money you can
- Research the dungeon/instance so that you know any special conditions you may face so that you can be prepared and can help your group if they've never been there

This isn't a comprehensive list, I'm a noob as well, this is just what I've learned thus far using some MMO common sense and some research.