Physical Security Assessment from building security checklist , image source: www.slideshare.net
Each week brings new projects, emails, files, and task lists. Just how much of that is totally different from the work you’ve done before? Odds are, not much. A number of our tasks are variations on something.
Don’t reinvent the wheel every time you start something new. Instead, use templates–as starting point standardized documents with formatting and text. As soon as you save a version of the template add, eliminate, or change any data for that record, and you’ll have the new work done in a fraction of this time.
Templates work everywhere: in word processors, spreadsheets, project management programs, survey programs, and email. Here’s to create documents from a template — and how to use templates from your favorite programs –so you can get your tasks done faster.
Templates take time to build, and it’s easy to wonder if they are worth the investment. The answer: absolutely. Editing a template takes far less time than formatting something from scratch. It is the distinction between retyping it, or copying and pasting some text.
That’s not the only benefit: Using a template means you are less likely to leave out crucial info, also. By way of instance, if you want to send freelance writers a contributor agreement, changing a standard contract template (instead of composing a new contract each time) guarantees you won’t depart out that crucial clause regarding possessing the material as soon as you’ve paid for it.
Templates also guarantee consistency. Perhaps you send regular job updates to customers or investors. Using a template, you know the upgrade will have the same formatting, design, and general arrangement.
How to Create Fantastic Templates
Not all templates are created equal–and a few things don’t need a template. Here are a few guidelines to follow.
First, templates should be comprehensive. So err on the side of including too rather than too small, it is more easy to delete information than add it .
Imagine you’re developing a template of your own resume. You would want to list facts about your duties and achievements, so you are going to have.
You can delete notes on, but you might forget it in the final 25, if it is not from the template.
Some applications will automatically fill in all these factors for you (more on that in a little ). But if you have to fill in the information on your own, include some text that is obvious and easy to look for so you can find.