FIVE QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE GOING OUT-OF-OFFICE

On Saturday we welcomed the month of June, which is the unofficial kick-off of the summer months. Summer prompts afternoons playing golf, schedule changes and time out-of-office for vacations! Since we have a few members of the Kingsgate Family taking or planning vacations, we figured others might be gearing up for the same. Here are five questions you should ask yourself before you go out-of-office:

1. Have you scheduled your email auto reply?

Before you leave for vacation, especially if you won’t have email access, it’s important to schedule an out-of-office auto email reply. This ensures your clients and contacts know you are out and provide an expectation of when you’ll be able to respond. Plus, you should leave an alternate contact for emergencies in your auto reply.

2. Have you cleaned up your desk, email and voicemail?

We all know how hard it can be to coming back to tons of unread voicemails, emails and tasks. So, before you head out of town do your future self a favor and straighten up your desk by cleaning your coffee mug, organizing your papers and files and etc. Make sure you also do a pre-vacation cleanup for your emails and voicemails so you’re not too overwhelmed upon your return.

3. Have you assigned tasks and coverage to a co-worker?

Prepare your team for your absence and make a list of tasks, deadlines and responsibilities your co-workers will need to help you with while you’re out. Make sure you provide them with everything they would need to help manage your responsibilities and help set themselves (and yourself) up for success.

4. Have you wrapped up all current assignments (as much as you could)?

Before leaving, do your due diligence to tie up any loose ends so you can return to with less to catch up on. It is tempting to leave some of your work until your return – don’t! Your co-workers and your future-self will thank you for finishing up what you can.

5. Have you prepared a return agenda?

The final step before leaving for some relaxing time off is taking some time to prepare for your return. Take a half-hour to figure out what will need to be done when you get back to the office. Instead of coming back and not knowing where to start, you can walk into the office and hit the ground running.

What things you do ask yourself before heading out-of-office?

All the Best,

Jeff Beckham