S cientists who have children are trying to manage their productivity as employers, universities and schools worldwide have closed in an effort to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Here’s what six researchers are doing to navigate the tensions that arise when full-time work and full-time parenting intersect at home. SAPNA SHARMA WORK IN BURSTS Our public schools closed on 13 March. I have enjoyed the extra time with my son, who is four years old, and whom we are home-schooling for several hours a day. But I have had to move meetings online through the video-conferencing service Zoom. I hold these approximately one-hour laboratory and collab- oration meetings while my son is awake, during regular working hours. He usually does an independent activity then, such as colouring, playing with his toy cars and trains or working on his sticker collection, or he watches a car- toon. Sometimes, he comes to sit on my lap and joins the Zoom meetings. I am fortunate to work with colleagues who are patient and understanding, and enjoy my son popping in. I also work in shorter stints — 45–60 minutes at a time during the day — while my son is busy with his own activities in the same room. Dur- ing this time, I can do only teaching, service, editing and outreach work. It’s difficult to write or work on research during this time, so I try to do that before my son wakes up at 9:30 a.m. and after he has gone to bed. Depending on the day, and because it was especially busy while transitioning my teaching to online courses, I work a total of 6–8 hours a day. My research, which I can do remotely, involves analysing large data sets to understand the impacts of climate change on lakes. I make detailed notes on what I absolutely need to do when I have time for work, and go straight to my to-do list as soon as I get a chance. I am fortunate to have an incred- ibly supportive husband, who helps to give me focused work time when I need it. He has a PhD in particle physics and works in quantitative-risk management, and is also working at home during this pandemic. He and I alternate caring for our son, typically for a couple of hours at a time. For example, if I am in a meeting or teaching, my husband will play with and take care of our son during that time, and vice versa. If we are both in a meeting or working at the same time, our son will watch something on television. Our schedule of meetings with others is pretty well structured. Work time is not struc- tured, and we found that we’re both putting in very long days to accommodate working and taking care of our son. When we are both busy or in a virtual class or meeting, our local friends and family help us out by ‘playing’ with our son over video call. My parents live outside Toronto and my husband’s parents are in Chicago, Illinois. Both sets had offered to help in person during this time, but we asked them not to, because of the higher risk of infection for them. I recognize that I am not going to be as productive during the COVID-19 outbreak, but I am comfortable with that. Academia is a marathon rather than a sprint, and I will have time to be productive after this public-health crisis is over. Sapna Sharma is a freshwater ecologist at York University in Toronto, Canada. Editor’s note: Sharma e-mailed on 1 April with this update: “I became ill on 25 March with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and with a kidney infection. I learnt on 1 April that I tested negative for the virus, and antibiotics are helping with the kidney infection. I taught my last class for the semester on 25 March, and have taken a break from work. I will work again when I’m feeling better.” Sharma e-mailed again on 3 April to say that she was feeling better and was back to work. Nature encourages readers who are feeling ill to take sick leave. FROM LAB BENCH TO LEGO BRICKS Scientist-parents describe their efforts to juggle family and work duties during virus restrictions. Ecologist Sapna Sharma working at home in Canada with her son. SAPNA SHARMA Nature | Vol 580 | 30 April 2020 | 673 Advice, technology and tools Work Send your careers story to: naturecareerseditor @nature.com Your story ©2020SpringerNatureLimited.Allrightsreserved.