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It's time to get away: Cut, paste and customise out of office messages

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Have you managed to get away yet this year?

With the whole worldwide pandemic thing, I think I'm not alone in feeling like some time away from our desks is overdue. I've been really pleased to see staycations, time off and fun times with family and friends popping up in the diaries we manage for clients.

I'm going to follow suit and take some time out in August.

Of course, I couldn't leave you without sharing my three favourite templates for you to use during your own holidays...

Cut, paste and customise out of office messages!

⛺️ Keep it simple

I am currently out of the office on [business/annual leave/holiday/client work/study leave] from [insert date] to [insert date] inclusive.

I will not be accessing emails or calls during this time and will respond on my return.

If your message requires urgent attention please forward your message to [insert email] who will be able to assist you in my absence.

☀️ Summer shutdowns & festive time out

After a really busy [start to the year/year], and with an even busier period just around the corner we’ve decided to press pause over the [holiday/summer/festive] period.

We are temporarily closed to [clients/customers/new orders] from [insert date].

Whilst our [offices/workshop/studio are/is] closed we won’t necessarily be checking our emails every day. If you need us urgently during this time please call [insert phone number] and [I/we/a member of our team] will get back to you as soon as possible.

Our [offices/workshop/studio] will reopen on [insert date/time] and we will respond to your enquiry then.

🎾 Put the ball in their court

I am on [holiday/vacation/annual leave/taking a break] [on/from/during] [insert dates].

I know I’m supposed to say that I’ll have limited access to email and won’t be able to respond until I return, but that’s not true. My phone will be with me and I can respond if I need to. And I recognise that I may need to interrupt my time off from time to time to deal with something urgent.

That said, I am going to try to disconnect, get away and enjoy my time away as much as possible. So I’m going to leave the decision in your hands:

If your request truly is urgent and you need a response whilst I’m away, please send me a message on [insert phone number] and I’ll try to respond to it promptly.

Otherwise, I’ll respond promptly when I return on [insert date].

I hope you have a wonderful summer break.

I can't wait to see you all for in September with fresh notebooks and new school uniform!

P.S. Although I've not got any #hottake #hotcontent planned for August, and I've not won the lottery yet, me and my lovely team are still working. So if the thought of leaving your desk behind is filling you with dread then you should get in touch and talk about how we can make your operations work with you being chained to your desk.