Is Your Non Profit Blooming line from non profit strategic plan template , image source: www.slideshare.net
Each week brings new projects, emails, documents, and task lists. How much of this is completely different from the job you have done? Odds are, maybe not much. A number of our day-to-day tasks are variations on something.
Don’t reinvent the wheel each time you start something new. Instead, use templates–as starting point for 17, standardized documents with formatting and text. As soon as you save another version of the template add, eliminate, or change any info for that unique document, and you are going to have the new job done in a fraction of the time.
Templates work anywhere: in word processors, spreadsheets, project management apps, survey programs, and also email. Here is the way to create documents from a template — and the way to use templates in your favorite apps –so you can get your common tasks done quicker.
Programs take time to build, and it’s easy to wonder if they are worth the investment. The answer: absolutely. Editing a template takes much less time than formatting something from scratch. It’s the difference between copying and pasting some text, or retyping it.
That’s only one advantage: Using a template means you are not as inclined to leave out key info, also. For example, if you want to send freelance writers a contributor arrangement, modifying a standard contract template (rather than writing a new contract every time) guarantees you won’t leave out the crucial clause regarding possessing the material once you’ve paid for this.
Templates also guarantee consistency. You send customers or investors regular job updates. With a template, you know the upgrade will have the formatting, design, and structure.
How to Create Great Templates
Not all templates are created equal–and a few things don’t need a template. Here are a couple of guidelines to follow.
First, templates should be comprehensive. It is easier to delete information than add it in, so err on the side of adding rather than too small.
Imagine you are developing a template of your resume. You would want to list details so you’ll have all the info you want to apply for any job.
You can always delete less-important notes later on, but when it’s not in the template you may forget it.
Some tools will automatically fill in these variables for you (more on this in a little ). But if you need to fill in the information on your own, include some text that is simple and obvious to search for so it is possible to find.