Smooth Handover: How to Start Your Vacation Stress-Free

Summer is already heading into its final stretch, and it feels like half the world is still on vacation. Do you know that feeling right before a few days off? The anticipation – often mixed with a bit of excitement – sometimes blends with a vague sense of “Did I forget something at work?”

So how do our colleagues make sure they can head into their vacation with peace of mind? What absolutely has to be done before saying, “See you in two weeks…”?

Dr. Linda Glawe, what is especially important to you on your last day before vacation?
“Before days off and vacations, I like to tidy up – my desk (including drawers), but above all my virtual desktop, so that I can start again well-organized after the break.”

Our colleague Clemens Bauer has developed a new kind of vacation handover for his clients: a custom GPT that not only documents open tasks and their status, but can also answer colleagues’ follow-up questions.

Where can I find the latest version of the presentation? What’s the current status of project XY? Who is the contact person for Z? – All of this can be clarified directly.

Even better: once the GPT is set up, it can be reused again and again – and tasks can be transferred directly from the project management tool. That makes handovers even easier and more sustainable.

This way, communication keeps flowing, the team saves time – and those on vacation can truly switch off.

And what about our colleague André Schmidt, just five minutes before heading out on vacation?
“Some say I’ve got deposit bottles worth the value of a small car stashed in my drawer. But only ever until vacation. It’s a must: before a few days off, I clear it all out – the drawer gets emptied, old magazines on the desk go to recycling, coffee cups into the dishwasher. Clean desk, more or less. I suspect that four days after I get back it’ll look the same again. But until then: a spotless conscience.”