Things to do before you go out of office

It’s starting to feel like everyone is on holidays now but if you are yet to head off then this guide is for you. Follow these 5 steps for a stress-free holiday from work.

Make an OOO Document

One of the hardest things about coming back to work after a vacation is figuring out what is and isn't worth your attention. There's going to be a flood of emails, so much so that it may even be worth leaving the OOO on for one more day and catch up but with proper prep you wont feel overwhelmed on your return.

Before you go offline, create a document for your coworkers to point out the most important things to catch up on. For example, “ignore this email thread on project A, it’s been taken care of” or “Customer B has been sorted, no need to contact”. The specifics don't matter—the important thing is that your team knows they should leave you a note so the majority of your emails can be marked as sorted.

Set your Calendar to OOO

Calendars are great, everything works better with a plan but what can be frustrating is when you book time with someone or arrange an important meeting only to find that person is actually on a beach in Spain living their best life. Set your calendar to OOO so you won’t have to decline every meeting invite.

Setup Automatic Replies

Automatic replies for external and internal emails is so important and the message for both should reflect proper instructions for the person trying to contact you. If it’s a customer, they should know who to get in touch with while you are away. If its internal they need to know when you are back and if you are picking up emails while away. The answer to that is hopefully NO.

Set Project Expectations

Work will always be there, there will always be the next project, the next deadline and the next task to complete. You can’t work all year-round some time needs to be taken to recharge. Instead of feeling pressure to keep going it is better to set a date for your hols and let teams/customers know early that this is happening and the projects will have to work around this date. It can be difficult but a rested version of you is more productive than the 24/7 workday version of you.

Conduct a Handover

Who’s doing what? This is a great way to delegate work and to show your current workload. Select one point person to hand your projects over to. This person can be someone else on the project team or a fellow project manager who can keep folks on track while you’re away. If you provide them with all the up to date documentation and explain the project milestones then everything should be fine on your return.

Disconnect

And finally it is now time to disconnect. Leave the work phone at work. Don’t take your laptop to the airport. A complete disconnect from work is the only way you will truly enjoy your holiday.