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Automation Squad
Hand to your teamWritten for Claude or ChatGPT

Write the handover so things don't stall while I'm away

Robert MacKelfresh

By Robert MacKelfresh

Founder, Automation Squad

Handovers get written as a list of what you're working on, which is the least useful framing, because the person reading it is looking for what to do when something goes wrong at 4pm on a Thursday. Leading with the break-glass section and being specific about what not to interrupt for is what actually buys you an uninterrupted week.

The prompt

I'm away from [DATE] to [DATE]. Interview me and then write the handover.

Ask me ONE question at a time and wait for my answer. Ask about eight. Cover:
- What's genuinely live right now, and what only looks live
- What's waiting on someone else, and who to chase if it stalls
- The decisions that might need making while I'm out, and my view on each
- What I'd want to be interrupted for, and — more usefully — what I definitely wouldn't
- The relationships that need a human, not a status update
- Anything where the context lives only in my head
- What's likely to go wrong, based on what usually does

Then write the handover as:

1. IF SOMETHING BREAKS. The three most likely problems, who to call for each, and what I'd do. Put this first — it's the only section people read under pressure.

2. IN FLIGHT. Each item: current state, next action, who owns it while I'm out, and what "done" looks like.

3. DECISIONS THAT MIGHT COME UP. My view on each, and — crucially — whether it can wait until I'm back. Most can. Say which.

4. DO NOT INTERRUPT ME FOR. Be specific. A vague "only urgent things" gets me messaged about everything.

5. THE PASSWORDS AND ACCESS PROBLEM. What people will need that only I can currently reach. Flag it — do not write any credential down here.

6. WHAT WILL PROBABLY SLIP, and why that's acceptable.

Write it so someone can act on it without asking me a follow-up question. That's the whole test.

Copy it, paste it, run it. Nothing here is gated.

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Written for Claude or ChatGPT as of August 2026. Models change — if this stops working the way it should, that is worth telling us about.