Write a Handover Document So Nothing Important Falls Through the Cracks

I need to write a handover document because [reason — e.g. I'm going on leave / I'm leaving the role / I'm changing teams]. I'll be away from [start date] for approximately [length of absence]. My role is [job title] at [type of organisation], and the person taking over is [their name and role / "not yet named"]. Please help me put together a thorough but easy-to-follow handover document.

Cover these areas:

1. Live work — the projects, tasks, and decisions currently in motion. Here's a brief on each: [your notes on each one].
2. Recurring responsibilities — the routine things I do that nobody else might think to flag. For example: [list the regular things, e.g. weekly reports, monthly invoicing, signing off rotas].
3. Key people — internal colleagues and external suppliers, clients, or partners my replacement will need to know about. For example: [a few names and what they're for].
4. Where things live — folders, shared drives, tools, and logins (where to find them, not the passwords themselves), plus any systems they'll need access to.
5. Unwritten knowledge — the quirks, nuances, and "this is how we actually do it" stuff that's not documented anywhere. For example: [anything you know is in your head but nowhere else].
6. What's urgent vs. what can wait — flag anything time-sensitive in the first two weeks of my absence so they don't miss a deadline.

Format the document with clear headings, short paragraphs, and bullet points where they help. Use a warm, helpful tone — written for a real person, not a process manual. End with a short "if in doubt" section explaining who to escalate to and how to reach me in genuine emergencies (only if I'm contactable).