Congratulations! If you’re here, you’ve decided to take some well-earned time off from work.

Whether you’re taking a short vacation or welcoming a new baby into your family, this guide will help you create a plan to help you wind down with intention, take leave without checking in all the time, and have a gentle reentry when you return.

The resources in this guide were created with the generous input of people like Kim Minnick, Kimberly Bringas, as well as many friends and colleagues over the years who do not share my name, I promise.

Let’s get started - you’ve got this!

🤝 Step 1: Create your Handoff Plan!

It’s important to clearly plan what will happen to your work while you’re out, regardless of the length of your absence. This lets your team feel confident in keeping things moving while you’re out, and ensures you have the peace of mind to truly let go.

🗺️ General Process:

  1. Assess the work that needs to be covered: what’s in production, what’s unfinished, what needs to be maintained, etc.
  2. Create a plan for who will cover the work, and what work will get put on hold until you return.
  3. Communicate the plan with all stakeholders to ensure alignment and awareness.
  4. When everyone is on board, start executing the plan! Ideally, if you’re heading out on an extended leave (medical, parental, sabbatical, etc), you will not be performing any work on your last day or two, and will just be available to support the folks who are taking over while you’re gone.

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When you’re thinking about the work coverage, share your thoughts, and ask for theirs - don’t just tell people what they’ll be taking on (even if you are their manager). Remember that there will likely be a chain reaction: if someone’s taking something of yours, what has to come off their plate to make that happen?

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📝 Creating the plan:

If you don’t want to start from scratch, I co-created this Handoff template while I was at Oyster. Feel free to use it! Just remember to talk to your team before assigning anything to anyone - nobody likes to be surprised with work they didn’t expect 😀

The most important thing is that the plan is agreed upon and documented, including: