Many of our daily tasks, such as creating project outlines and drafting client emails, are variations of things we've done hundreds of times before. Not only are they time-consuming, but they can be a real snooze.
Create and autopopulate a Google Docs templateThere's no need to reinvent the wheel every time you start something new. Instead, use templates—standardized files complete with fill-in-the-blank fields and preset formatting—to kick things off.
Templates work everywhere you do, like in word processors, spreadsheets, and email. Here, I'll show you how to create templates in your favorite apps, so you can get your most routine tasks done faster.
Yes, templates take up-front time to build—but they're worth the investment. Here are three key reasons why you should consider using templates:
Some daily workflows don't need a template, but when they do, here are a few simple guidelines to keep in mind.
Learn how to organize your files and folders, so you can find templates and important files faster.
Now that we've covered those ground rules, let's dive into how to create templates for common file types like text documents, presentations, and emails. I'll demonstrate this using the most popular apps for each category. If you use a different app, no worries—these strategies work on most platforms.
And if you want to make a template in a different type of app—perhaps to make notes in a CRM or to log data in a database builder app—the general tips still work there, too.
Document templates are suitable for almost anything, including legal agreements, resumes, and meeting notes. You name it, you can create it. Here's how to build your own document template in popular word processing apps.
If you're short on time to create a nicely-formatted template, check out the Google Docs template gallery. It contains over 50 professionally-designed templates for things like project proposals, meeting notes, and cover letters, which you can use as is or modify to your needs.
But if you want to create a truly powerful template, here's how to build one from scratch.
If you have a Google Workspace account, and you want to share your template with the rest of your team, here's how to add it to your organization's template gallery.
Now your template is available company-wide.
Like Google Docs, Microsoft Word is loaded with pre-made templates—from meeting agendas to cover letters to business trip checklists. To access them using the web version of Word, click See more templates in the Create new section. If you're using the desktop app, click More templates in the Home tab.
For whatever reason, Word only displays a small sampling of its templates. To find more templates, or search for specific ones, check out the template library.
If you want to create your own template, here's how.
If you're using the web version, you can't save the file as a Word template. Instead, whenever you need to use it, you'll have to make a copy and edit as needed.
The general approach to creating document templates also applies to creating presentation templates: create a base presentation with your desired structure and formatting, then duplicate and modify it each time you need to present something.
If you want to reuse specific slides across different presentations—perhaps a slide with your business plan, company statement, or goals—most apps offer ways to copy individual slides from one presentation to another without sacrificing design.
Here's how to do it in Google Slides, but you can apply similar steps in Apple Keynote and Microsoft PowerPoint.
Google Slides is a good go-to for presentations because it's cloud-based. This means you can access your templates from anywhere, so long as you have internet access.
Similar to Google Docs, you can use pre-built Google Slides templates. Or you can create your own.
If you want to copy individual slides from one presentation to another, without losing the formatting, here's how.
In the GIF above, notice how the text font and presentation colors change after I click Keep original styles. That's what you want. If you click Match styles in this presentation, you'll lose the desired formatting.
Want to create a presentation using something other than Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint? Check out our roundup of the best online presentation tools.
If you're not making spreadsheets for fun, you're probably using them for something arguably more practical: budgets, timesheets, project management, reporting—you get the idea.
Instead of manually entering complex formulas every time you need to crunch large amounts of data, use a spreadsheet template.
Need to quickly whip up an invoice? Or maybe a project timeline that includes progress bars? These are just a few of the templates you can find in Google Sheets' template gallery. The best part is that a lot of them come fully loaded with the formulas you'd likely need, so you don't have to plug them in yourself.
To create your own template, and to share it with others in your Google Workspace, the steps are nearly identical to what you'd do for Google Docs.
If you're crunching large amounts of data, you're probably doing it in Microsoft Excel—it's one of the most powerful and popular spreadsheet tools for good reason.
There's an Excel template for almost every purpose imaginable. Just do a quick search in your browser for Excel template [use case] , or check out Excel's template library, and you'll get what I mean. There are lots of free options out there, so please don't feel compelled to purchase a template.
And if none of those fit the bill, you can create your own.
Note: If you're using the web version of Excel, you can't save your file as .xltx (Excel template). Instead, you'll have to save your file as the default .xlsx , and then make a copy of it every time you want to use it.
Learn how to automate Microsoft Excel, so you can do tasks like log form submissions, send team updates, and sync databases—without lifting a finger.
Using project management templates doesn't just cut down on setting up workflows—it also helps you leverage processes that have worked in the past. Here's how to set up a template in popular project management apps.
Trello is a terrific tool for managing all sorts of projects: weddings, vacations, reading lists, and, you know, work stuff.
In Trello, projects are organized into separate groups called boards. Within each board, you can create an unlimited number of lists that you can fill with cards for specific tasks. Here's how to create a project management template.
If you don't want to create a board from scratch, you can copy one from Trello's rich library of templates. Before you copy the board, you can deselect Keep cards to reuse only the old project's list structure—not its existing cards.
And if you don't want to template an entire board, you can also create card templates. This way, you can quickly create tasks, including notes, attachments, and assignees, faster.
Asana recommends creating project templates for processes with five or more steps. (For processes with fewer than five steps, you're better off creating task templates.) To build a project template, you can use Asana's pre-built templates, or you can create your own.
To do the latter, you need to first create a project. Here's how.
Debating between Trello and Asana? Find out how these two project management apps stack up in our showdown: Trello vs. Asana.
Form and survey design is a mix of art and science: you have to find the just-right combo of questions, wording, design, and formatting. But once you've found the winner, create a template in your go-to survey or form builder, so you can repeat your success again and again.
There are three ways to create a survey template using SurveyMonkey: create your own, build with AI (in beta as of this writing), or use one of their over 150 ready-to-use templates. Here's how to create a survey template from scratch.
Want to try a different survey builder? Check out our roundup of the best survey apps—many of which let you copy surveys to use as templates just like SurveyMonkey.
Creating a form template in Typeform is similar to what you'd do in SurveyMonkey.
Learn how to connect Typeform with the apps you already use, so you can streamline your workflows and eliminate errors that come with manual data entry.
If you, like me, dread typing routine emails, email templates are a game changer. You can create one for almost anything, including welcome emails, customer feedback requests, and post-purchase messages.
Here's how to create an email template in the most popular email apps.
Before you can create a template in Gmail, make sure you have the template feature enabled.
Now you can set up your first template.
The email signatures below live in a Google Doc. Click Get the templates to make a copy of the Google Doc, and then scroll to the bottom of the article for instructions on how to install them.
Setting up message templates in Outlook is just as easy as it is in Gmail.
Using templates is just one way to save time in your daily workflows. If you want to reclaim even more hours in your day, connect your apps with Zapier. This way, you can automate your templates, based either on actions taken in other apps or on a schedule. Here are some examples to get you started.
To get started with a Zap template—what we call our pre-made workflows—just click on the button. It only takes a few minutes to set up. You can read more about setting up Zaps here.
