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Automatic Reply: “Relaxing, reflecting, and not looking at screens”

An out-of-office response containing some relevant research.

Automatic Reply: “Relaxing, reflecting, and not looking at screens”
Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

Automatic Reply celebrates the pithy, surprising or otherwise amusing out-of-office email messages pinging around workplaces.


Emily Theis produces websites at Upstatement, a digital design and engineering agency in Boston. When she went on vacation, her out-of-office message came with some scientific facts for why we should all take a little time off work.

Hi there! I’m out of the office on vacation.

Since multitasking isn’t a thing, and vacation is incredibly important for the health of a person and a company, I’m spending my time focusing on relaxing, reflecting, and not looking at screens. By the time you’re reading this, my computer has been thrown into the ocean. Metaphorically.

I’ll get back to you upon my return!

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