21 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN 2020 AND 2021 - PART II

Hi there, welcome back ??. Today I will be sharing more thoughts on where 2021 is heading in comparison to 2020. This time the focus will be on the impact of on our Social life, Personal care and Leisure.

Let’s start with the Social side of our lives:

• Our social lives have been at an all-time low in 2020. We missed being able to spend time with friends and family, especially during the first lockdown and again as of October 2020. By the second half of 2021 we’ll be able to get together in larger groups again with friends and family. Most of us will be vaccinated by then, which means that we’ll be able to hug a few close contacts that are outside our personal bubble.
• Rather than having lockdown parties I predict a lot of well-deserved freedom parties once group immunity kicks in.
• Handshakes are so early 2020, in 2021 they are definitively a thing of the past. For 2021 I’d like to put my bet on the BOW greeting like in Japan. Did you know that this bowing ritual started as the consequence of a different virus? And of course, we’ll continue to greet by foot, elbow…. ??.  
• Creating new love stories in time of Covid has not been easy. Those among us who are single and were confined to their homes during the first lockdown,  discovered that the only way to date was online! In 2021 they will finally meet in person!

Then there’s the way that we have been taking Personal Care of ourselves:

• Let’s first touch upon the way we look. The trend was set last year when we could no longer visit our hairdressers, beauticians, nail stylists…, ???????????. We barely survived Q2 of 2020 and as of May/June quickly ran back to our favourite beauty advisors. Then came the second lockdown mid-October and since then we’re stuck with nowhere to go. I know quite a few people that decided to go let their hair grow and/or become grey/white, got rid of artificial nails and put on less or no make-up! 2020 was still the year of trying to keep colour and style, 2021 is the year of the ‘natural beauty’!!!
• If there’s one thing that Covid-19 taught us, it’s the importance of being and staying in shape. The healthier you are, the better your chances of feeling ok when do you get it! The BIG trend in 2021 is going for a WALK! People (re-)discovered the most basic and (one of the) healthiest sports ?????♀???, one that you can do alone or with a friend. You can even download apps that enable you to invite a friend for a walk, how cool is that ??. Great example is Ommetje ((https://www.hersenstichting.nl/ommetje/), the # 1 walking app in The Netherlands. Excellent way to stay physically fit AND keep your social life alive (good for mental health) ??.

And final one for Part II of the series => what we do with our Leisure time:

• Holiday travel became very local, and at some stage even virtual in 2020. I predict that by the second half of 2021 we will be able to travel more freely again. There will be less city trips than pre-2020, the trend for 2021 is to return to nature and relax!
• 2020 was the year we learned to ‘eat out’ at home. In the second half of 2021 restaurant visits will start to boom. In the meantime, restaurants have had time to rethink their menu and develop creative and tasty new dishes that we are all craving ????????????.

That’s all for now. In a couple of weeks, you can expect Part III with the final 6 points! The focus will then be entirely on how the way we Live and Work changes even more in 2021!