OMG We are ALL home!
The Laugh
For context we are talking about a family of six: Four humans (mom + dad + 9-year-old + 7 -year-old), one dog, one cat. Mom and Dad have jobs that see them working from home 80% of the time under normal circumstances, but the kids are usually at school or in daycare. From time to time the kids have been home with their parents while they are working so being home while parents are working is not new to this family, but it has never been done for consecutive weeks before while the kids are supposed to be doing homework. This family is active and used to heading to after school and sport activities 3 days a week and having activities on the weekend. It is Day 1 of everyone being home due to COVID lockdown. All. Day. No extracurricular activities.
The kids are pretty pumped to be home and are excited. At this point they have no idea that their sibling is their only in-person playmate for the foreseeable future. Mom and Dad are cautiously optimistic that given their previous experience, they will be ok. However, the kids were pulled from school before it was officially closed and there is no real plan in place to manage the situation. The day starts out well. The parents go to their respective workspaces in the house, the kids go on an online field-trip and then are playing well together . . . but then Dad has a conference call, so Mom has to come out of her workspace to manage kids and try to work while Dad is on the call. The cell reception at their location is brutal so Dad has to be in the main common area of the house and stand quite still so as to not lose reception. The kids are in the same area coloring together quietly – but choose this exact moment to start fighting. While Mom is attempting to get kids quiet and moved to a different area of the house, the cat begins to howl loudly (no reason is ever determined for why) and the dog begins to wretch – and proceeds to vomit - all of this in the same common area where Dad’s conference call is trying to go forward and the kids are fighting. “OMG – what just happened” Mom thinks while simultaneously wondering what the dog ate and fast forwarding to worst case scenario involving a large vet bill and more mess. But also laughs out loud at how what appeared to be a productive day has suddenly disappeared into complete chaos. A second OMG thought enters the Mom brain as in, “OMG this is my life now . . .” Amazingly, the kids quiet down (no doubt achieved by a combination of the look of death delivered by Mom and being grossed out by the dog) and the cat also stops wailing. Dad’s conference call continues, and it now becomes Mom’s job to clean up after the dog (who now seems quite fine and rather pleased with themselves) and get the kids settled with another activity so Mom and Dad can work.
All in all, the disruption to the workday last 45 minutes to an hour by the time the mess was cleaned, the kids were reset, and Mom was refocused at work. The reality of the new normal, did not take long to sink in.
The Lesson
Your house will probably look like a war zone. Likely there are several reasons for this. First, all the people who live in it are home all the time – humans can be (are) messy – especially the smaller ones. Second, you are trying to do your job, manage kids, feed them, distract them and clean up the messes they create while you are working and they are supposed to be doing what you asked - not be redecorating the living room with tape, construction paper and markers (true story) and third this schedule is kicking your butt and by the time it is possible to clean, sleep is much more inviting and quite frankly, necessary.
Your workday likely looks a lot different than usual; in fact, your entire life likely looks a lot different than it usually does. This is stressful. As humans we are designed to adapt – we’re just not used to doing at warp speed in the middle of a pandemic with our family and work in tow. To say there is a lot on our plates is an understatement. If you feel like you are regressing, you are not alone.
The Iteration (i.e., how to make it better next time)
Try to accept that productivity may look different now. Make a list and break it into three categories: Must Do Today/Must Do This Week/Later. Share this with your supervisor and agree on what needs to be done day by day and week by week. This can provide you with a clear sense of what needs to be done so you can frame your time around the necessities and clear your mind of things that are not needed until later
SEAS the moment to breathe (it just takes 2 minutes)