Why young people are turning their backs on busyness

Particularly if doing so offers no tangible rewards, such as the promise of a stable future.

@fmsmith319Gen Z and Millennials are prioritizing living over working♬ original sound – Freddie Smith

‘We use busyness as a wonderful, horrible distraction from life, and pain, and emotions, and things we don’t want to face,’ says Caroline Dooner, author of Tired As F*ck.

‘It’s a distraction from learning to be with ourselves and it’s sneaky because it is a very socially acceptable addiction.’

As Latif explains, a soft life (if it’s accessible) is how Gen Z is choosing to take its foot off the pedal.

Unlike the #ThatGirl movement, which encourages us to consistently self-improve – a.k.a. 7am gym sessions, pristinely healthy diets, and ten-step skincare routines – alongside a full hustlin’ schedule, soft living teaches us to slow down entirely.

Enthusiasts of this radical shift in mindset emphasise that it’s all about being conscious of the here-and-now, to enjoy the little things as they happen, to make considered decisions about how to spend our time, and to never rush or over-fill our diaries.

This, they say, is far healthier than our frequent tendency to manically tick items off our to-do lists as we strive to keep grinding.

‘There’s something about softness that is not valued in the corporate world or isn’t understood. It’s seen as a weakness,’ Rose Gardner tells Latif. ‘I see it as a strength.’

Of course, extricating ourselves from the rat-race isn’t all that easy. Yet while the notion of quitting our jobs and disappearing into the woods is rather far-fetched (not to mention impractical), the values the soft life revolution teaches are certainly worth adopting if we’re even the slightest bit concerned about our wellbeing at present.

‘When you realise that the world doesn’t end and people don’t hate you if you say no to things, try it again and then just keep going,’ says Elsa Grace Evelyn, a content creator whose numerous platforms embody the outlook.

Stressing the benefits of this mindset when it comes to tackling the depression and anxiety we often experience as a result of hustle culture, she adds: ‘the more you ask yourself “is this something I really want to do or am I doing it because I feel I should?” it becomes a whole lot easier to just stop doing things you don’t enjoy.’