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Every week brings job lists, emails, documents, and new jobs. Just how much of this is different from the job you have done? Odds are, maybe not much. A number of our day-to-day tasks are variations on something we’ve done hundreds of times before.
Don’t reinvent the wheel each single time you start something fresh. Use templates–as starting point standardized documents with formatting and text. Once you save another variant of the template, just add, eliminate, or change any info for that document that is unique, and you’ll have the new job.
Templates work anywhere: in word processors, spreadsheets, project management programs, survey programs, and also email. Here’s the way to use templates from your favorite programs –and to automatically generate documents from a template–so it’s possible to get your tasks done faster.
Programs take the time to build, and it’s easy to wonder whether they’re worth the investment. The brief answer: absolutely. Editing a template requires far less time than formatting something. It’s the difference between copying and pasting some text, or retyping it.
That’s only one benefit: Using a template means you are less inclined to leave out crucial information, too. For instance, if you want to send freelance writers a contributor agreement, modifying a standard contract template (rather than writing a new contract every time) ensures you won’t leave out the crucial clause about possessing the material once you’ve paid for it.
Templates also guarantee consistency. You send regular project updates to investors or customers. Using a template, you know the upgrade will constantly have the formatting, design, and standard arrangement.
How to Create Great Templates
Not all templates are created equal–and some things don’t require a template. Here are a couple of tips to follow.
First, templates must be comprehensive. It is simpler to delete info than add it , so err on the side of adding rather than too small.
Imagine you’re developing a template of your own resume. You’d want to record details about your duties and accomplishments, and that means you’ll have.
You can always delete less-important notes later on, but you may forget it in the last edition when it is not in the template.
Some tools will automatically fill in these factors for you (more on this in a bit). But should you have to fill in the information on your own, add some text that’s easy and obvious to look for so it is possible to locate.