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Every week brings new jobs, emails, documents, and task lists. Just how much of that is different from the work you have done before? Odds are, maybe not much. Many of our day-to-day tasks are variants on something.
Don’t reinvent the wheel each single time you start something new. Use templates–as starting point for 17, standardized documents. As soon as you save another variant of the template add, remove, or alter any info for that record, and you’ll have the job done in a fraction of the time.
Templates work anywhere: in word processors, spreadsheets, project management programs, survey platforms, and also email. Here’s how to use templates from your favorite apps–and to create documents from a template–so you can get your tasks faster.
Programs take the time to construct, and it’s easy to wonder whether they are worth the investment. The short answer: absolutely. Editing a template requires far less time than formatting some thing from scratch. It’s the difference between copying and pasting some text, or retyping it.
That is not the only benefit: Using a template means you’re not as likely to leave out crucial information, too. For example, if you need to send freelance authors a contributor arrangement, changing a standard contract template (rather than writing a new contract each time) guarantees you won’t depart out the crucial clause regarding owning the material as soon as you’ve paid for it.
Templates also guarantee consistency. Perhaps you send regular project updates. With a template, you know the upgrade will always have the exact same formatting, layout, and standard structure.
How to Create Fantastic Templates
Not all templates are created equal–and some things do not need a template. Here are a few tips to follow.
First, templates must be comprehensive. It is simpler to delete info than add it in, so err on the side of including too rather than too little.
Imagine you are developing a template of your resume. You’d want to list facts so you’ll have all the info you need to apply for any job.
You can delete notes on, but when it’s not from the template you might forget it.
Some tools will automatically fill in these factors for you (more on this in a little ). But should you have to fill in the information on your own, include some text that is obvious and simple to search for so you can find.