Tech ops meets mom life. Real systems for work and home, from a working mom in tech who runs her house like an ops team.
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The human behind standups & snacktime. I’ve spent about 15 years in tech, mostly in operations, and I’m raising two kids who are 11 years apart. This site is where those two worlds meet.
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.
15 years in tech. Mostly operations. A little bit of everything.
And somehow I still forget why I walked into a room.
Because there’s a weird amount of overlap between running operations and managing a household. So you’ll find tech ops without the corporate bs, systems for messy problems, and mom life without pretending I’ve mastered it.
Psst. This site has a terminal. Press ` anywhere, or open it here, and type help.
Release notes from work and home. Shipped, broke, fixed, repeat.
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.
For running teams, sprints, incidents, and your own career.
For running the house without running yourself into the ground.
Join the list and you’ll hear when new templates land. Got one you need? Ask on the connect page.
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.
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Come say hi. Collabs, podcast invites, template/changelog requests, and “yeah, same” messages are all welcome. Email is best for anything work-related.
For Jess only. Log in to update the status page, manage incidents, see the subscriber list, and connect Spotify.
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.
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.
play on spotify (deep_work.exe, opens in a new tab)Clearing the backlog and knocking out tickets.
Around brisk-walking pace, which keeps you moving for long stretches without stealing focus.
play on spotify (sprint mode, opens in a new tab)Catching up on Slack and email.
Inbox work is light on brainpower, so songs you already know keep the mood up.
play on spotify (unread (47), opens in a new tab)The five minutes before a big meeting, presentation, or hard conversation.
Anthems that lift your energy fast. Play two songs, shoulders back, walk in.
play on spotify (walk-on music, opens in a new tab)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.
play on spotify (sev 1, stay calm, opens in a new tab)The last day before vacation. Handover doc done, auto-reply on.
Bright and upbeat, for the lightest workday of the year.
play on spotify (out of office (almost), opens in a new tab)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.
play on spotify (re-entry protocol, opens in a new tab)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.
play on spotify (after bedtime, opens in a new tab)Friday afternoon. The week shipped.
Groovy, feel-good disco and funk. Upbeat without being frantic, like a victory lap.
play on spotify (ship it friday, opens in a new tab)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.
play on spotify (i'm fine (status: yellow), opens in a new tab)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.
play on spotify (rage quit (politely), opens in a new tab)Data migrations, cleanups, and anything with a progress bar.
Driving, repetitive riffs keep you locked in for hours, and the energy never dips.
play on spotify (migration day, opens in a new tab)Spreadsheet marathons and planning docs.
Long, cinematic, and lyric-free. It holds your focus through big thinking without ever interrupting it.
play on spotify (quarterly planning, opens in a new tab)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.
play on spotify (1:1 energy, opens in a new tab)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.
play on spotify (school run, opens in a new tab)Three songs, one kitchen, zero choreography.
Ten minutes of dancing to songs everyone knows is the fastest mood reset there is.
play on spotify (snacktime dance break, opens in a new tab)Root cause: spilled juice on my laptop. The page you asked for doesn’t exist or has been moved.
