70–90 bpm · lofi + ambient
deep work.
Writing, planning, and anything that starts with a blank page.
Slow, steady, and almost no lyrics, so nothing competes with the words in your head.
hi, i'm jess.
tech by day.
chaos by nature.
big job.
small humans.
mostly chill.
an american millennial in sydney with an aussie husband, two kids 11 years apart, a career in tech, and one calendar holding it all together. i've been building things online since ’97, back when that meant dial-up and a lot of patience.
what you'll find here
my real life, plus whatever's making it work.
i share what's actually going on at work and at home. when something helps me, like a template, a playlist, or a better way to say no to a meeting, i pass it on.
real lifemotherhood, moving countries, and everything that happens outside work.→
work lifea career in tech: growing, getting paid, and pushing back without a speech.→
home lifetwo kids, one calendar, and the systems that keep it from falling over.→
things that helpfree templates, scripts, and the career guides.→
playlistswhat i put on to get through the work day.→
career guides
three guides, all out now.
see the guides →guide + three résumé templatesitemizedmake your résumé easy to read, for the software and the person who skims it next.see inside
guide + story bank sheetstatementsay what you've done so it lands, in interviews, based on how people actually listen.see inside
already bought? open your guides.
free templates
steal my systems.
from the changelog
fresh off the keyboard.
see all entries →the newsletter
a weekly standup, minus the meeting.
my newsletter is in the works. get on the list and you'll be the first to know when it launches. no schedule promises yet. there's a baby involved.
you're not bad at balance. life just overlaps.
about
hi, i’m jess.
the human behind standups & snacktime. i taught myself html on expage and geocities in the late ’90s, tinkered with aol chatroom macros, and never stopped building, this site included. add about 15 years in tech, mostly operations, and two kids born 11 years apart. this is where all of it meets.
quick facts
- name
- jess 👱🏻♀️
- based in
- sydney, australia
- raised in
- arizona, usa 🌵
- in tech
- ~15 years 🗓️
- mostly
- operations ⚙️
- kids
- 2, born 11 years apart 👧🏼👶🏻
- tabs open
- 37 🔥
if something was on fire at work, there’s a good chance i was there with the extinguisher, or at least the spreadsheet tracking where all the extinguishers were. i’ve built processes from scratch, run incidents, led teams, and fixed a lot of things that weren’t working.
at home it’s the same job with smaller stakeholders. priorities change without warning. someone always needs something. nothing goes exactly to plan. and snacks are a critical dependency.
my brain runs with 37 tabs open (hi, add), so i don’t do systems because i’m naturally organized. i do them because without them, nothing gets done.
the work stuff
15 years in tech. mostly operations. a little bit of everything.
- customer operations
- incident management
- escalations
- trust & safety
- programs
- people
- processes
i’ve done a lot
- built processes from scratch.
- managed incidents when everything’s on fire.
- led teams.
- coached people.
- fixed things that weren’t working.
- made expensive problems less expensive.
and somehow i still forget why i walked into a room.
the non-work stuff
why standups & snacktime?
because there’s a weird amount of overlap between running operations and managing a household. so you’ll find tech without the corporate bs, systems for messy problems, and mom life without pretending i’ve mastered it.
psst. this site has a secret terminal. press ` anywhere, or open it here, and type help.
blog
the changelog.
release notes from work and home. shipped, broke, fixed, repeat.
templates
steal my systems.
systems i use at work and at home, packaged so you can steal them. new ones get added over time. join the list to hear when they land.
work ops
for running teams, sprints, incidents, and your own career.
home ops
for running the house without running yourself into the ground.
want a heads-up?
join the list and you’ll hear when new templates land. got one you need? ask on the connect page.
status
household status.
systems
incident history
newsletter
get on the list.
a standups & snacktime ~weekly standup newsletter is in the works. drop your email and you’ll be the first to know when it launches. no schedule promises yet. there’s a baby involved.
free. no spam. unsubscribe anytime.
- status
- in development
- launch date
- tbd
- frequency
- weekly-ish (see: baby)
- blockers
- sleep. check the status page
- you
- first to know, if you’re on the list
subscriber list
only you can see this.
link clicks
taps on your short links, like standupsandsnacktime.com/go/playlists. only you can see this.
connect
come say hi.
collabs, podcast invites, template/changelog requests, and “yeah, same” messages are all welcome. email is best for anything work-related.
admin
for jess only. log in to update the status page, manage incidents, see the subscriber list, and connect spotify.
playlists
Music for every mode.
Free Spotify playlists for every part of the workday, plus a few for the parts around it: deep focus, backlog sprints, incident calm, big-meeting nerves, Monday emo, post-meeting rage, the school run, and the Friday wind-down. Pick the one that matches what’s on fire.
What are you doing right now?
118–128 bpm · electronic momentum
sprint mode
Clearing the backlog and knocking out tickets.
Around brisk-walking pace, which keeps you moving for long stretches without stealing focus.
95–110 bpm · easy feel-good
unread (47)
Catching up on Slack and email.
Inbox work is light on brainpower, so songs you already know keep the mood up.
100–120 bpm · confidence boost
walk-on music
The five minutes before a big meeting, presentation, or hard conversation.
Anthems that lift your energy fast. Play two songs, shoulders back, walk in.
85–105 bpm · calm instrumentals
sev 1, stay calm
When everything's on fire and you can't be.
A steady, unhurried pulse with no lyrics, so it never competes with the incident channel.
118–130 bpm · pre-vacation hype
out of office (almost)
The last day before vacation. Handover doc done, auto-reply on.
Bright and upbeat, for the lightest workday of the year.
80–100 bpm · gentle ramp-up
re-entry protocol
The first morning back, while you read 300 emails.
Warm and unhurried, to ease you back in instead of throwing you in the deep end.
60–85 bpm · late-night wind-down
after bedtime
Kids asleep, laptop open, one more thing.
Soft and slow, for the quiet hours when you're working and winding down at the same time.
105–125 bpm · disco + funk
ship it friday
Friday afternoon. The week shipped.
Groovy, feel-good disco and funk. Upbeat without being frantic, like a victory lap.
140–180 bpm · 2000s emo + pop-punk
i'm fine (status: yellow)
Monday mornings, long commutes, and inboxes that need an attitude adjustment.
Fast, loud, and full of songs you already know every word to. Nothing burns off stress like a chorus you screamed at 16.
130–170 bpm · metalcore + nu-metal
rage quit (politely)
After the meeting that should have been an email.
Let the song do the yelling, then write the calm reply. Heavy, but no death metal.
110–140 bpm · heavy rock + metal
migration day
Data migrations, cleanups, and anything with a progress bar.
Driving, repetitive riffs keep you locked in for hours, and the energy never dips.
slow builds · post-rock instrumentals
quarterly planning
Spreadsheet marathons and planning docs.
Long, cinematic, and lyric-free. It holds your focus through big thinking without ever interrupting it.
70–95 bpm · warm acoustic + soul
1:1 energy
1:1 prep, feedback writing, and getting your head right before a real conversation.
Unhurried and warm, so you walk in calm and present instead of rushed.
100–130 bpm · clean sing-alongs
school run
The drive to school, with an audience that has opinions.
Bright, familiar songs the kids know, picked to be kid-friendly. Nothing you’ll have to explain.
110–130 bpm · kitchen dance party
snacktime dance break
Three songs, one kitchen, zero choreography.
Ten minutes of dancing to songs everyone knows is the fastest mood reset there is.
Request line: got a song that always gets you through a hard day? Leave me a note and it might end up on a playlist.
incident #404
this page wandered off.
root cause: spilled juice on my laptop. the page you asked for doesn’t exist or has been moved.