SMALL TALK

How’s your day been? Are you working at the moment?

Oh mate, I am off. I am a person in the world. I am sat on a couch. What am I doing? I’m reading books! I’m going on walks! I’m seeing friends! I’m with my family! I’m in my mid-thirties!

You’re living! Well, that sounds like living to me...

Do you know what I mean? I’ve been grinding away, like everyone else our age has been, I suppose, addicted to work in certain ways. You know, I’ve been working back-to-back for so long, I just realised, “Oh, I don’t feel the need to do that anymore.” That’s quite a nice feeling.

It feels like an idea that’s gaining ground. There was an article online recently about millennials being the “burnout generation”. It’s tricky because the culture right now tells us that we need to always be on. But I don’t agree. I think it is making people burn out and I think it’s creating an imbalance, a lack of presence, a lack of joy and a lack of actually knowing ourselves better. I don’t know, maybe I’m just justifying my laziness!

Not at all — it’s good to have time for self-care. Exactly. Perspective-altering stuff, you know what I mean? JOHN NUGENT UNDER THE SILVER LAKE IS ON MUBI NOW