2020: The new normals of daily life

This year, if you found yourselves asking  "what day is it?" you weren’t alone. That question was searched for on Google more than ever before in 2020 as so many of us adjusted to new routines while living through the coronavirus pandemic. 

Sheltering in place meant we had to get creative with our beauty and grooming habits. Average daily views of YouTube videos with “haircut” and “home” or “how to” in the title increased by over 220 percent since mid-March, and that was just the beginning. These are the 2020 top trending beauty “how to’s…” on Google Search.

1. How to cut men's hair at home 

2. How to plop hair

3. How to color your hair at home

4. How to wash your hands

5. How to style curtain bangs

6. How to cut women's hair

7. How to do knotless braids

8. How to fade hair

9. How to trim your own hair

10. How to dermaplane

Found yourself kneading some kitchen inspiration this year? If you weren’t a master chef or baker before 2020, you may be now. Searches for “recipes”  hit an all-time high worldwide. In the U.S., comfort food and sweet treats consume this year’s top trending recipes. (Fun fact: On YouTube, global average daily views of videos related to sourdough have increased over 260 percent since Mar. 15.) 

1. Sourdough bread

2. Whipped coffee

3. Disney churro

4. Dole whip

5. DoubleTree cookie

6. Ikea meatball

7. Chaffle

8. Hamburger bun

9. Egg salad sandwich

10. Healthy banana bread

Our commute time turned to couch time, as many of us transitioned from the office to working from home. People looked for solutions to questions  like “how to stay motivated” and “how to stay focused.” Here are the top trending work from home-related questions this year. 

1. How to stay motivated working from home

2. How to stay focused working from home

3. How to start working from home

4. How to be productive working from home

5. How to get a job working from home

6. How to stay sane working from home

7. How to keep toddler busy while working from home

8. How to make working from home fun

9. How to survive working from home

10. How to manage employees working from home

When we weren’t finding new recipes or trimming our own bangs, we explored virtual ways to stay entertained and connected. Whether you celebrated a major milestone or found new ways to keep your kids engaged at home, this list of “virtual…” searches is extremely 2020. 

1. Virtual field trips

2. Virtual museum tours

3. Virtual Kentucky Derby

4. Virtual learning

5. Virtual NBA fans

6. Virtual EDC rave

7. Virtual classroom

8. Virtual tours

9. Virtual marriage

10. Virtual baby shower

And speaking of virtual, the dating scene looked a little different this year. From digital-only to socially distanced date ideas, we still looked for ways to find a connection. 

1. Quarantine date ideas

2. Virtual date ideas

3. Long distance date ideas

4. Free date ideas

5. Social distancing date ideas

6. First date ideas during covid

7. Facetime date ideas

8. Outdoor date ideas

9. At home date ideas

10. Best date ideas

For more lifestyle trends that made 2020 feel, well, so 2020, explore this year’s other trending lists at Google.com/2020. And you can learn more about what we watched and learned during the pandemic with this year’s YouTube Trends.