Project Charter Template Canada from project cost estimate template , image source: www.canada.ca
Every week brings new projects, emails, documents, and job lists. Just how much of that is totally different from the job you have done before? Odds are, not much. Many of our tasks are variations on something.
Do not reinvent the wheel each single time you start something fresh. Instead, use templates–as starting point for work that is , standardized documents with formatting and text. Once you save a separate variant of the template, just add, eliminate, or change any data for that document, and you are going to have the new work.
Templates work everywhere: in word processors, spreadsheets, project management programs, survey platforms, and also email. Here’s the way to automatically create documents from a template — and how to use templates in your favorite programs –so it’s possible to get your tasks done quicker.
Templates take the time to build, and it’s easy to wonder if they’re worth the investment. The answer: absolutely. Editing a template requires far less time than formatting something from scratch. It’s the difference between copying and pasting some text, or retyping it.
That’s only one benefit: Using a template means you’re less inclined to leave out crucial info, too. By way of example, if you need to send freelance authors a contributor agreement, modifying a standard contract template (instead of writing a new contract each time) guarantees you won’t leave out the crucial clause regarding owning the content as soon as you’ve paid for this.
Templates also guarantee consistency. Maybe you send investors or clients regular project updates. With a template, you know the update will constantly have the formatting, design, and arrangement.
How to Create Great Templates
Not many templates are created equal–and a few things don’t require a template. Here are a few tips to follow.
First, templates must be comprehensive. So err on the side of including rather than too small, it is more easy to delete info than add it .
Imagine you’re creating a template of your own resume. You would want to list in-depth facts and that means you’ll have all the information you want to submit an application for any job.
You can delete notes on, but when it’s not in the template you may forget it.
Some applications will automatically fill in these variables for you (more on that in a little ). But should you have to fill in the information on your own, include some text that’s simple and obvious to search for so it is possible to find text that needs to be changed without much effort.