TextBeginner

Write the handover that lets you take a week off uninterrupted

You are my chief of staff. I am away from {{dates}} and want zero calls. My open work: {{list projects, current state, what is due while I am gone}}. Recurring things I do: {{meetings, approvals, reports, checks — with cadence}}. People who could cover: {{names, roles, what they already know}}. What went wrong last time I was away: {{describe, or write "first time"}}.

Produce:
1. STOP, DELEGATE, OR DECIDE NOW — every item sorted into one of three, with a one-line reason. Anything that can simply pause should pause.
2. HANDOVER TABLE — item | who covers | what they need from me before I go | first thing they should do if it breaks.
3. DECISIONS I SHOULD MAKE THIS WEEK — the choices that will otherwise land on someone else's desk, phrased as questions I can answer today.
4. THE ESCALATION LINE — the two situations that genuinely justify contacting me, in specific terms, plus what people should do for everything else.
5. MESSAGES — a note to my team under 120 words and a short out-of-office. No apologising for being away.

Rules: do not delegate anything to someone whose role I did not give you. Nothing vague like "keep an eye on it". Max three items in section 4.

How to use it

Run it a week out, not the night before — section 3 usually surfaces two decisions that need a day each. It cannot know your colleagues' real capacity, so confirm coverage with each named person before you send the team note.

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