When I was in quarantine in a hotel for 14 days prior to moving back into my parents' house, I was feeling pretty productive at work. I had very few distractions (phone calls, internet, TV, watching the birds through the window which didn't open), but otherwise I was free to work and make my own schedule.
Now that I've moved to my parents' house, and with my sister no less, I can barely function. My dad needs round the clock care but covid has prevented all of his at home health aide workers from coming in, so keeping up with his needs for food, water, a listening ear is overwhelming (he is an EXTREME extrovert so needs attention if he is awake). My mom has an injured hip and can't keep up with the housework and all the usual household needs (which have grown exponentially with covid cleaning!), so I'm filling in there as well. My sister has mental health issues and severe attention deficit disorder so I'm constantly managing her emotions and cleaning up her messes (she lacks the ability to complete jobs like cleaning the kitchen after she makes whatever food she wants to eat). Her hunger and eating are constant due to her meds and a lack of impulse control. She also has no bladder control so I help her with washing up her bedding every day and sometimes her clothes/floor if she has an accident while awake.
On top of that, my dad is 100% a jerk. I know he is in pain and has cancer, but he's always been quite a racist, sexist bully and he constantly verbally and financially abuses my mom. My sister sometimes gets this treatment as well, and I've been getting the brunt of it lately as well, as I have taken over some of the duties my mom used to have.
Also, my sister doesn't quite understand the concept of the hygiene and actions needed to manage a pandemic. She will touch her mask and then the door handle, not wear her mask because she is "just going into the room (where my ill dad is convalescing) for a few minutes," stole the car keys in the middle of the night and went to get cigarettes. With no mask, with no precautions taken. She is very willful--it's like dealing with a 300 pound, 5'5" child who can wreak the havoc of an adult: she eats up all of the food, even when earmarked for someone else, whenever she wants (all the time), does what she wants, with no regard for the rest of us in the house.
With all the above, it is no wonder that my productivity has gone right down the tubes!! I have suspended my PhD now but still have my work responsibilities. I'm very much struggling to get things done, but no one else is there to keep my project going, so I will probably lose my job (because my project will end) if I don't find a way to cope.
If you have family responsibilities, how do you stay productive? I would love any tips!!
