Many of you are planning on “going home” for the holidays. Whether that means you’re staying in at your home or you’re venturing back to the city you grew up in to visit family. More complicated and awkward than running into your old high school friend whose repeated friend requests you ignore is crafting an “out of office” automatic reply for your email.
Well, you are in luck. We found some creative and effective Out of Office templates for you to use while you spend the holidays with Cousin Dan, Uncle Tim, and Aunt Penny. The best part is that you can modify these to work while you’re on your fishing trip. Who says reading a fishing blog doesn’t improve your work/life balance? You’re welcome.
- Make the most of your holiday
Hi there,
Thanks for your email. Unfortunately, I cannot balance holiday travel guilt and work guilt, so I will not be reachable from [OOO dates]. If you need to reach me, please send a note to [emergency contact name/email], and I’ll coordinate with them when I return to the office.
Thanks!
2. Need a little pre-holiday prep time?
Thank you for reaching out.
I am unavailable from [enter OOO days] for the winter holidays. I’ve been asked to fill in for the ghost of Christmas present to terrorize this year’s chosen billionaire and want to plan accordingly. If it’s urgent, my colleague [emergency contact name/email] can help.
3. Going home for the holiday?
Thank you for reaching out.
I will be traveling home for the holiday and therefore unavailable from [enter OOO days]. I’ll have limited access to email because I’ll spend the majority of my time desperately searching for excuses for why I can’t go to a dive bar with people I haven’t spoken to since 2009.
Or…
Hi friend! I’ll be OOO [enter days] to travel back to my hometown for the winter break, where I’ll spend approximately one week exclusively eating sugar cookies shaped like snowmen and scrolling through every social media platform to see who has a baby now.
I’ll get back to you as soon as I return to the office!
4. For something short and sweet
I am unavailable from [enter OOO days] to prepare for the winter break and the screaming match my cousins will inevitably have about whether NFTs are a good investment. If it’s urgent, my colleague [emergency contact name/email] can help.
5. Maybe you’d like to be as realistic as possible
Hey there! Thanks for your email.
I’ll be out [enter days OOO] because this year was really hard, and I’d like to escape into the Real Housewives universe for a few weeks. If anything urgent comes up, reach out to [emergency contact name/email].
6. Throw in a fun holiday fact
Thanks for your email, and happy holidays! I will be OOO during [enter days OOO]. Did you know you can watch every single Princess Switch movie at least four times in 24 hours if you take minimal breaks? Now you do.
7. The most versatile and our favorite
Hi,
I’ll not be checking email until [enter date]. Your email will be archived, so I will not be overwhelmed with a flood of emails upon my return. If your email requires a response, please set a reminder for yourself to send me a follow-up email on [enter date]. If this is an emergency, call me via mobile phone, although I can’t promise I’ll answer that either.
sources: morningbrew.com and forbes.com
Other Tips & Tricks:
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