Automatically Let People Know You Are Out of the Office

Google Calendar can automatically alert people as they are composing a message to you that you are out of the office.  It can also automatically decline meetings when you are away.  

Setting this up is simple – start by creating an all day appointment  in your Google calendar by clicking on the day you start to be out.  When the appointment window comes up, name the event then click Out of Office. 

Click the Does not repeat line and choose “All day”.  Choose whether you want to decline only new meetings you’re invited to or also the ones you’ve already accepted.  You can leave a custom message if you like.

 

If you will be out for more than one day you can click the ending date (the dates next to the clock icon) to specify how long the Out of Office should be in effect.

Your status as Out of Office also shows up in Google Mail and Chat as anyone at Williams starts a message to you.

This will help communicate your availability to your colleagues and hopefully give you a more restful time away.  Enjoy!