Setting An Out-of-Office Reply in 2026

Gary is going on vacation.

Photo by Knopka Ivy on Unsplash

Draft 1. Saved 5/4/26, 1:48 p.m.

Thank you for your email. I will be out of the office from July 1 through July 7 with limited access to email. I will respond to all messages upon my return. For urgent matters, please direct inquiries to Simone Harris, who leads our accounts team.

Best, Gary

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Draft 2. Saved 5/27/26, 3:41 p.m.

Thank you for your email. I will be out of the office from July 1 through July 7 for our annual beach week with my family. This will be our seventh year at the same rental, and my daughter has been marking the days on the kitchen calendar since April. I cannot overstate how much I am looking forward to this week. I will have limited access to email and will respond to all messages upon my return. For urgent matters, please contact Simone Harris.

I hope you can take some time for yourself this summer as well!

Best, Gary

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Draft 3. Saved 6/12/26, 8:19 p.m.

Thank you for your email. I will be out of the office from July 1 through July 7 for our annual week at the beach.

We have rented the same house, the Sandpiper, for seven summers now, and my daughter has taken to calling it “our house,” which neither my wife nor I have corrected. There is a frog that lives under the front porch. She named it last summer and expects it to be there this July. I have not told her how long frogs live because I do not actually know, and I am afraid to look it up. I need this week. I will have limited access to email. For urgent matters, please contact Simone Harris.

Best, Gary

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Draft 4. Saved 6/24/26, 10:52 p.m.

Thank you for your email. I will be out of the office from July 1 through July 7. Given the price of gas right now, we have decided to skip the boat rental this year, so I will actually be available in the afternoons throughout the week. For anything related to the Hartman account, please call my cell directly. For all other matters, please contact Simone Harris.

Gary

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Draft 5. Saved 6/26/26, 9:33 p.m.

Thank you for your email. I will be out of the office from July 1 through July 7, but will be checking email throughout the day and am available for calls. I understand that the Copilot rollout is being expanded while I am away, and I would appreciate being kept in the loop on any changes to my accounts. I have been doing this for eleven years. I know which clients want a phone call and which ones want to be left alone. A chatbot does not know these things. My cell is in the signature.

Gary

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Draft 6. Saved 6/29/26, 11:47 p.m.

I WILL BE “OUT OF THE OFFICE” FROM JULY 1 THROUGH JULY 7 IN THE SENSE THAT I WILL BE SITTING IN A RENTAL HOUSE THAT COSTS ELEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS MORE THAN IT DID LAST YEAR WHILE PAYING FIVE DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS A GALLON TO DRIVE NINE HOURS WITH A DOG THAT NEEDS TO GO TO THE BATHROOM EVERY HOUR. I WILL HAVE ACCESS TO EMAIL BECAUSE IT IS 2026 AND THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS LIMITED ACCESS TO EMAIL. YOU CAN REACH ME ANYTIME. I AM ALWAYS REACHABLE. I HAVE BEEN REACHABLE EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR ELEVEN YEARS. THE ALGORITHM CANNOT DO WHAT I DO.

GARY

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Draft 7. Saved 6/30/26, 12:04 a.m.

OOO 7/1–7/7.

G

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Draft 8. Saved 7/1/26, 6:12 a.m.

Thank you for your email. I will be in the office this week and available at my desk. I am here.

Gary

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