Nicky Lowe [00:00:00]:
Hi, it’s Nicky Lowe and welcome to the Wisdom for Working Mums podcast show. I’m your host and for nearly two decades now I’ve been an executive coach and leadership development consultant. And on this show I share evidence based insights from my coaching, leadership and psychological expertise and inspiring interviews that help women like you to combine your work, life and motherhood in a more successful and sustainable way. Join me and my special guests as we delve into leadership and lifestyle topics for women, empowering you to thrive one conversation at a time. I’m so happy that you’re here. And let’s get on with today’s episode. Welcome back. And today I’m covering a topic that is important any time of year, but is vital at this time of year.

Nicky Lowe [00:00:55]:
So at the time of recording, we’re entering the school summer holidays here in the uk. And as women, and as working mothers and as leaders, we face a unique and relentless balancing act, especially when the summer holidays arrive. Now, let’s get honest. This time of year brings a very particular challenge. You know, the school summer holiday stretches out for weeks, while our work commitments simply don’t disappear. We’re kind of handed a logistical puzzle, one with far fewer pictures than the picture on the box would suggest. And this is where really practical leadership comes into play. Navigating the gap between work and family over the summer isn’t just about survival.

Nicky Lowe [00:01:42]:
It’s about harnessing the same skills you use in your professional life. You know, strategic thinking, clear communication, intentional planning, and bringing them home. So if you’re feeling that special brand of overwhelm that only the summer holidays can bring, you’re not alone. Balancing work, childcare and the desire to really create a memorable summer for your children is not a failure of your time management or ambition. It’s a complex, demanding leadership challenge. And here’s what I know. No amount of willpower alone can bridge the gap between the realities of modern work and the demands of family life. But systems, the right systems can help.

Nicky Lowe [00:02:26]:
They can provide the scaffolding that supports us to show up as the leader we want to be in every sphere of our life. Now, before you switch off or roll your eyes, thinking systems. That sounds boring. Corporate. Hang in there. I promise you, these systems have really helped me in my life, both at work and at home. And as you listen, today, I’m going to share three brilliant, free resources with you that you can use right now to bring more ease to your summer. So stay with me.

Nicky Lowe [00:02:59]:
Your summer sanity toolkit is just ahead. But firstly, I want to talk about why I’m talking about systems and why they matter for us as leaders, both at home and at work. And to do that, I’m going to share with you the power of standard operating procedures. And as I say, don’t switch off. This isn’t more life admin, it’s more life freedom. So let me take you back a little to explain because for years I wore that I’ll just do it all myself badge with pride. I was the go to person both in my business and my home. I was spinning the plates, keeping track of everything, solving problems on the fly.

Nicky Lowe [00:03:42]:
And it worked. Until it didn’t. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a season in your life where it feels like you’re holding everything together by sheer force of will. 2021 was my season. When it went off the scale it was what I would call my Anna anus horribilis, if you remember the late Queen Elizabeth using that term to describe her horrible year. And 2021 was mine. @ the beginning of that year in the January most of my family got Covid and then we went straight into another lockdown and shortly after that my son had an accident and saw him in a wheelchair for a while and and we had to do home learning with him. Then a little while after that my dad got diagnosed with cancer and sadly died two weeks after his diagnosis.

Nicky Lowe [00:04:34]:
And while I was navigating all the grief that that brought, the school summer holidays hit. And then that September my daughter started nursery at school and came into contact with lots of other children which was lovely but came into contact with that seasonal bugs and her it was her opportunity to build her immune system put it that way and she got every kind of cold and cough and bug going and it meant that my family needed me more than ever that year but so did my business and I was running on empty and a whole lot of luck and kind of I don’t know what I literally had. I think I counted. There were only nine weeks across that whole year where I had I could focus on my work kind of more fully. I had my to do lists in my head and scattered on post it notes and if you’d asked me how I got it all done I probably would have just shrugged and said I just keep going. But it wasn’t sustainable. The stress, the overwhelm, the weight of holding all the jobs. It was brutal and I think I got to October half term that year and I just went something’s got to change.

Nicky Lowe [00:05:46]:
Either I need to close my business down or I need to find a better way of running my business and enter from left of stage my business manager, Lauren, my wing woman. She’s my chief operating officer. And I decided to hire Lauren to join my team. And if you want to hear about the impact Laura had on my life, you need to go back and check out our podcast episode where I introduce you to her and I share the powerful insight she had in my business. So go and check out that episode. How I stepped up to be the CEO in my business is episode 114. And you can hear, as I say, all about the impact. But one of the things that Lauren did was introduce me to these standard operating procedures.

Nicky Lowe [00:06:35]:
Now, if with standard operating procedures, you’re picturing a dry corporate manual, stay with me in reality, standard operating procedures. So these things called SOPs, are simple, clear, repeatable systems that free you from the constant decision making, mental thinking, firefighting. They really transform, I suppose, the invisible mental labor into visible, shareable plans. And here’s the strategic leadership lesson. The more you systemize the repeatable and essential, the more you unlock your energy, your presence, and your creative problem solving for the moments that truly matter. And if these strategies can transform businesses, why not bring them into our homes? And as leaders in our own lives, we deserve the same level of clarity and support. So let’s just talk about, like, what is a sop? So let me give you the leadership perspective on this. So a standard operating procedure is a defined way of getting something important done time after time.

Nicky Lowe [00:07:46]:
So it’s that repeatable piece and it ensures that the essentials don’t rely on one person’s memory or one person’s last minute hustle. It’s the difference between I hope I remember everything and I know we’re covered. And great leaders don’t try to hold it all alone. As we know, they build systems, they delegate, and they communicate clearly. But I don’t know about you, I kind of got that in my business life, like in my work life. I know that high performing teams have the right systems in place, they have the right mindset in place, but I kind of, for some reason didn’t apply that in the home. And it meant that I kind of was doing it on a wing and a prayer. And that just says, it sounds crazy for me to say that because I am not the kind of person who does things on a wing or a prayer.

Nicky Lowe [00:08:34]:
But somehow I kind of, I don’t know if I just been conditioned to go, like, if somebody’s got the household and they’re managing it well, it’s just because they’re naturally good at it. But SOPs at home mean you don’t have to be the only one who knows how things run and you can bring others in. So maybe your partner, your children, or even outside support. And what it meant in my business was that we have documented how everything runs in my business. So if anybody’s ever away off ill goes off on maternity leave, we literally just pick up the SOP and hand it to somebody else. And we’ve done this, you know, like getting this podcast out into the world. We’ve got standard operating procedures around every element of this podcast. And so when Laura, my podcast manager, is on holiday, most of the time we get stuff batched way in advance.

Nicky Lowe [00:09:25]:
But if there was ever the time, we’ve got my other virtual assistant, Lauren, who could step in and just follow the SOP because it details step by step. And that is just hugely freeing in the business. So nobody feels that pressure of I can’t drop a ball because there’s, there’s nobody there to pick it up to. We’ve got each other’s back. Like, we know what it takes. It’s okay. So what I wanted to share with you today was my top five family SOPs, including three summer must have for leaders at home. So let’s get practical.

Nicky Lowe [00:10:02]:
These are the five systems that are making a real difference for me in my life and three in particular this summer. So both as a leader at work and at home, these are absolute essentials for me for navigating the summer holidays. And yes, you can download the exact resources I use for free. All you need to do is go over to Luminate co.uk podcast forward/166. So that’s Luminate. L U M I N A T E Luminate podcast 166 because this is episode 166. So my first SOP is, is my school summer holiday planner. Now if you’ve been following me on wisdom for working mums for a while, you will be familiar with this.

Nicky Lowe [00:10:56]:
This is my go to planner that I use every school summer holiday. So as we know, strategic leaders don’t leave things to chance. So with this planner, I print it off. It’s got the ability to have it for one child, two child, three children or beyond. And it’s got a week by week kind of map and you can add your children’ names in there. And each day it breaks it down into morning and afternoon. And what is the plan? So it allows me, I sit down with these and I Like the physical of it, like I don’t, I can’t do it on a spreadsheet. I need to print these off, I need to get sticky notes, I need to literally do it in a very visceral way.

Nicky Lowe [00:11:40]:
So it’s like a kinesthetic. I need to get my hands on it and to do it to really feel like I’m in control of it. So what I do is before the, the school summer holidays, I print these off, I get my calendar out, my work commitment calendar and go, right, what are the meetings, what are the stuff that I’ve got on? So I can map that in and then I can work out where are my pinch points, where is it that I need to have kind of child care, where is it that I’ve got gaps to create some summer memories? And I map that all out and what it enables me to do is get the school, the summer camps out. So I’ve got my, my son does football and tennis and cricket, my daughter does D tennis and there’s some horse riding in there. So I get to kind of plan out what are the camps that I need to book on, on what days, where do I need people to pick them up from there, where are my pinch points? And it isn’t about micromanaging every minute, it’s for me about creating a visual overview so everyone understands the gameplay plan. It reduces the uncertainty. We have it on the fridge door so everybody can look at it and it empowers the whole family and it allows me to protect time for what matters. So if you want to get a copy of this planner, it’s not just for the school summer holidays.

Nicky Lowe [00:13:00]:
You can use it for any time of year, any school holiday. Head over to luminate.co.uk podcast forward/166. The other sop that I have is my holiday packing list. I used to have this scribbled down on pieces of paper and then over the years the paper got kind damaged because it was reused that much and it didn’t necessarily reflect the life I have now with children. So I created this because a leader anticipates challenges before they become crisis. And my packing list helps eliminate those last minute scrambles because I’ve actually put myself in positions where I have been in that last minute scramble and I have forgot stuff and it’s not fun and I inevitably can get more stressed and anxious around holidays and because I can feel more of the mental load and this just helps alleviate some of that. So whether it’s a full blown holiday or kind of a weekend away. This holiday packing list just keep covers everything.

Nicky Lowe [00:14:12]:
Everyone knows what’s needed. The system means I can show up calm, prepared and ready to focus on fun, not my brain going, what have I forgotten? What have I got? What have I forgotten? And just waiting to almost open the suitcase and go, oh. It takes all of that away. So it’s got everything covered. From whether you’ve got tiny babies through to older children, the packing list covers everything that a family might need. So head over to luminate.co.uk podcast forward/166 the other end of the summer holidays is the transition back to school. And smooth transitions are the mark of effective leadership. So the week before September can be a real panic if we’re not careful.

Nicky Lowe [00:15:03]:
And what I’ve done over different kind of years is I’ve tried to hone my back to school plan. Do I go in early and buy stuff? But then there’s the risk that the kids grow and the shoes don’t fit and do I lead it till later? Do I try it in the middle? And if I’m honest, it’s a bit of everything in there. But what this back to school list helps me do is break it down into chunks. My brain, like all of our brains, likes to close off loops. So I’d either try to do everything really early or go right, just leave everything and do it all later. And either it’s not. Those are quite extremes. So what this back to school list allows me to do is go, okay, this is what I need to get.

Nicky Lowe [00:15:47]:
How am I going to break it down on what needs to be done earlier in the holidays, what needs to be done later? And it allows my brain to go, but you’ve got it all covered. It’s all on this list. You can see it and it covers everything you can think of, from school uniforms to stationery, to some of the emotional things to some of the logistical planning with the school. All of that is in there. So you can find that essential tool at that same link. So luminate.co.uk forward/podcast forward/166 so I really hope that those three tools are a game changer for you too. There’s another couple of sops that I’d like to add in. The fourth sop is the weekly family meeting.

Nicky Lowe [00:16:33]:
So we know that great teams check in regularly and every weekend our family has this kind of quick huddle, just like you heard in a high performing workplace. We align on priorities, share what’s ahead, delegate the jobs, surface any worries, kind of look at where there could be roadblocks. And it’s not a long meeting, but that clear communication each week really prevents 100 misunderstandings later. And you know, some weeks those meetings go smoother than others. But without a shadow of a doubt, having them proactively makes a huge difference. So if you’re not yet doing that, I really would encourage you to find a way. And depending on what age your children are, is to the degree that you might want to involve them. But just having that sense of check in and it might be that you’re solo parenting and so actually you, you’re doing that check in with yourself.

Nicky Lowe [00:17:30]:
And if you’re co parenting, you’ll know how important that kind of communication is. And depending on how smooth that communication is, I imagine you feel that from week to week. But having a way to do that check in is really important. My fifth sock that I’d like to share with you today is my meal planning and prep. It’s really important for me to do home cooked food. And prior to children that was just a joy. I used to love cooking in the kitchen and it was my way of unwinding and relaxing. And then when my kids were, when I was off on maternity leave and I was weaning my children, I still used to enjoy that.

Nicky Lowe [00:18:11]:
Then get back to work with family, being tired, I found meal planning and prep just a source of like, just frustration and the opposite of enjoyment for me. And I don’t want to let go of doing home cooked food. That for me, well being as you know, if you follow me for a while is really important. So the only way that I can do home cooked food in a way that feels like it’s easy and enjoyable is my meal planning and prep. So just as a good leader looks ahead to resource and protect their team, that’s what I try and do. So every Friday night I place my online food order that gets delivered on a Saturday morning. And that Saturday morning is my batch cook and prep time. So I get all, all the shopping out.

Nicky Lowe [00:19:06]:
Everything gets washed or kind of put away. But in that process what I’m also doing is I’m trying to do one touch with food in that. Can I not put it away and then have to get it out in the week to cook? What can I prep and make ahead? So our kitchen looks wild on a Saturday morning. Like I would not want anybody turning up to my house on a Saturday morning. There is shoot food shopping everywhere. There’s food prep and batching going on. But it also means that my healthy Meals are sorted and by the end of, by Saturday afternoon, my kitchen kind of returns to calm and I’m sorted for the week ahead. Like, there is no drama in the week of what’s for dinner or I’m tired and I’m looking at a fridge full of food, but I just haven’t got the brain capacity to, to prep anything.

Nicky Lowe [00:19:57]:
Most of it is done and it’s that couple of hours of strategic batching and planning can lead to a whole week of ease. And if it’s useful at some point, I may share some of that planning and prep. If it’s useful. If it is, drop me a note, maybe over on LinkedIn, Instagram, or drop me an email. I genuinely love to hear every listener, so if that would be useful, drop me a line and let me know. So those are the systems that are helping me lead at home as much as work this summer. And here’s what I want you to remember. Leadership isn’t just for the boardroom.

Nicky Lowe [00:20:38]:
It’s also how you support yourself, your family and your ambitions. And you don’t have to carry it all in your head like I used to. You might be somebody that’s naturally very systems orientated. I’m not. I am. I’m kind of probably Lauren’s nightmare in that I’m in the moment. I, I got all these ideas, but I’m not as good at the execution part of it. And Lauren’s made me so much more of a kind of responsible leader by putting these kind of systems in place.

Nicky Lowe [00:21:10]:
So I’m not the only one that’s holding things together. Systems aren’t just practical, they are self care and leadership in action. So if you want to grab my free summer holiday planner, my holiday packing list and the back to school list, head over to luminate group.co.uk forward/podcast forward/166 and just try one SOP. Just notice how it frees up your energy and brings your best leadership to both work and home. Those are my SOPs. You might have others and I’d love to hear your ideas. What do you use? As always, let me know how it goes. Tag me, message me, and let’s inspire each other.

Nicky Lowe [00:21:55]:
Because here’s to leading well, loving fiercely and making this summer a little calmer and a lot more memorable. Until next time, take care. If you’ve enjoyed this episode of Wisdom for Working Mums, I’d love for you to share it on social media or with the amazing women in your life. I’d also love to connect with you so head over to illuminate group.co.uk where you’ll find ways to stay in touch and if this episode resonated with you, one of the best ways to support the show is by subscribing and leaving a review on itunes. Your review helps other women discover this resource, so together we can lift each other up as we rise. So thanks for listening. Until next time. Take care.