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Write handover notes so nobody has to ring you on holiday

You're off on leave, or leaving for good, and only you know how things work. Get handover notes someone else can actually follow.

Updated 17 Oct 2026

The prompt · ChatGPT

Help me write handover notes.

Why: [holiday, parental leave, leaving the job]
Dates: [from and to]
Who's covering: [names]
My regular tasks: [daily, weekly, monthly]
Live work and deadlines: [list]
Key contacts: [names and what for]
Things only I know: [e.g. the quirks of the system, a difficult client]

Ask me up to 3 short questions first if anything important is missing. Wait for my answers.

Then:
1. A handover document: overview, regular tasks with how-to steps, live work with next steps and deadlines, contacts.
2. A "what could go wrong" section with what to do.
3. Where things are kept, with blanks for me to fill. No passwords in the document; tell me to share those safely.
4. A 30-minute handover meeting agenda.
5. My out-of-office message, matching the handover.

Only use what I've told you, leave blanks for anything I haven't given, and don't invent facts, dates or results. UK English.

Stay in this ChatGPT chat. Do not turn on apps or connectors, and do not use memory from another chat.

A short example

Fill the blanks, then paste. holiday, parental leave, leaving the job: a short note you already have. from and to: a short note you already have. Leave the rest of the prompt as written.

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