Write the handover note before the holiday, by talking it out

It's 4pm on the last day before two weeks off, you've got a handover note to write, and everything in your head is in the wrong order.

Don't try to write it neatly. Type or dictate it all as it comes, mess and all, then hand it over:

Here's a brain dump from someone going on leave from [DATE] to [DATE].
Turn it into a handover note for the person covering, with these
sections:
- Needs doing while I'm away (with dates and who's waiting)
- Waiting on someone else (who, what, and when to chase)
- Might come up (what it is, and what I'd do)
- Where things are (files, contacts, which systems, by name only)
- Don't touch (things that look broken but aren't)
- Who to call if it all goes wrong
If something sounds half-finished, or a date is missing, put it in a
list at the top called "Questions for me", so I can fix it before I go.
Don't include passwords or anything secret.

Brain dump: [PASTE]

Start with the "Questions for me" list. You'll read it and think "right, that's due Thursday", which is exactly the detail you'd have left out.

Check the note makes sense to somebody who doesn't know the work. Better still, get the person covering to read it before you go and tell you what's unclear.

If you do have to hand over a login, use whatever your team's agreed for that, like the password manager's sharing, and keep it out of the note.