IMAG0303 1 600×957 pixels Playroom from mickey mouse pants template , image source: www.pinterest.com
Every week brings documents, emails, new jobs, and job lists. Just how much of that is totally different from the job you have done before? Odds are, maybe not much. Many of our tasks are variations on something we’ve done hundreds of times before.
Do not reinvent the wheel every time you start something fresh. Instead, use templates–as starting point for 17, standardized files with formatting and text. As soon as you save a separate variant of the template, just add, remove, or alter any info for that document that is unique, and you are going to have the new work done in a fraction of this time.
Programs work anywhere: in word processors, spreadsheets, project management apps, survey platforms, and email. Here is how to use templates from your favorite programs –and to generate documents from a template–so you can get your common tasks faster.
Templates take time to build, and it’s easy to wonder if they are worth the investment. The answer: absolutely. Editing a template requires much less time than formatting some thing from scratch. It’s the difference between retyping it, or copying and pasting some text.
That is only one advantage: Using a template means you are less likely to leave out crucial information, too. For example, if you need to send freelance writers a contributor agreement, modifying a standard contract template (rather than writing a new contract every time) ensures you won’t depart out the crucial clause regarding owning the content as soon as you’ve paid for this.
Templates additionally guarantee consistency. You send regular project updates. Using a template, you understand the update will have the formatting, layout, and general arrangement.
How to Create Great Templates
Not all templates are created equal–and some things don’t need a template. Here are a few guidelines to follow.
First, templates should be comprehensive. It’s more easy to delete information than add it in, so err on the side of including too rather than too little.
Imagine you’re developing a template of your own resume. You’d want to record in-depth facts so you are going to have all the info you want to submit an application for almost any job.
You can delete notes later on, but when it is not in the template you might forget it.
Some tools will automatically fill in these factors for you (more on this in a bit). But if you have to fill in the information on your own, add some text that is easy and obvious to search for so you can locate.
Gallery of Mickey Mouse Pants Template
