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Each week brings task lists, emails, files, and new jobs. How much of that is completely different from the work you’ve done? Odds are, maybe not much. A number of our daily tasks are variations on something we’ve done hundreds of times before.
Don’t reinvent the wheel every single time you start something new. Use templates–standardized files with formatting and text as starting point. As soon as you save another variant of the template add, eliminate, or change any data for that document that is exceptional, and you’ll have the new work.
Programs work anywhere: in word processors, spreadsheets, project management programs, survey programs, and email. Here’s how to use templates in your favorite programs –and to automatically create documents from a template–so you can get your tasks done quicker.
Programs take the time to construct, and it’s easy to wonder whether they’re worth the investment. The brief answer: absolutely. Editing a template requires much less time than formatting something. It’s the difference between copying and pasting some text, or retyping it.
That is only one benefit: Using a template means you are less likely to leave out crucial information, too. By way of instance, if you need to send freelance authors a contributor agreement, modifying a standard contract template (instead of writing a new contract each time) ensures you won’t depart out that crucial clause about owning the material once you’ve paid for it.
Templates also guarantee consistency. Maybe you send regular job updates to investors or clients. Using a template, you know the upgrade will constantly have the same formatting, design, and general arrangement.
How to Create Great Templates
Not all templates are created equal–and a few things do not require a template. Here are a couple of guidelines to follow.
First, templates should be comprehensive. It’s easier to delete information than add it , so err on the side of adding also rather than too little.
Imagine you’re creating a template of your own resume. You would want to record facts about your duties and achievements, so you are going to have all the information you want to apply for almost any job.
You always have the option to delete notes that are less-important on, but you might forget it at the last 25, when it’s not from the template.
Some applications will automatically fill in these factors for you (more on this in a bit). But if you need to fill in the data by yourself, include some text that is obvious and easy to search for so you can find text that has to be changed without much work.