2020 saw the addition of many new phrases entering the common lexicon, including lockdown, social distancing, doomscrolling, and ‘these unprecedented times.’ While some made us eye-roll, others made us smile; words that have been truncated in typical Aussie fashion — ‘rona, quazza, sanny, iso — and some experts saying the normalisation may be helping us with the stress of the situation.
The Australian National Dictionary Centre chose the word ‘Iso’ as their entry for word of the year. Defined as: self-isolation; the act of remaining apart from others as a way to limit the spread of an infectious disease, especially as a public health measure.
Just about everything has had iso as a prefix: iso-haircut, iso-belly, iso-baking. The hashtag #iso has been used 2.4 million times on Instagram. But we think that ISO deserves a fresh meaning as we prepare for 2021.
Many of us are making plans into the new year for events with the hope that things will return to ‘normal’. But the normality of the past is not realistic. Those looking to tie the knot are finding that wedding venues are tough to come by, with the rollover of 2020 ceremonies into the new year. In WA, where the community is being urged to wander out yonder, travellers are finding that much of the yonder is fully booked, or has a minimum 3-night stay.
So, what will ‘iso’ mean in the new year? Over the next few days, we’ll be running some exercises (online and socially distanced, of course) that will get you in the right mindset to get going on your plans. We encourage you to make notes along the way, and we will implement a tool (one we use with our clients) to make 2021 a year to remember for the right reasons.
