Systems are the backbone of administrating a business. I consider it a win any time I can automate a system. That’s why I love templates and forms.

What takes needless time? Needless decisions!

You remove a bit of decision making each time you use a template. Even though you may not be aware of it, those seconds and minutes add up. Tiny decisions add stress and waste time…did I put this information in the first paragraph or the second paragraph last time? Should the date be in YMD format or MDY format?

Cut yourself some slack! It’s easy to present yourself with a consistent professional image just by using a template.

How Microsoft Word Templates Work

Since I do the majority of my work using Word, my templates are built using Word. It’s helpful to understand how Word templates work

DOC versus DOT

A Word document will have a filename of xyzfilename.doc. The DOC extension means that it is a Word document and you can edit that document easily. When you save it, you pick the folder. When you want to edit the document, you go to that folder and open the document.

A Word template will have a filename of xyzfilename.dot. The DOT extension means that it is a Word template, and it will automatically be saved in the Custom Templates folder. You can choose a different location but I advise against that.

“Edit” Versus “Create New”

When you want to edit a template, you go to the Custom Templates folder and right click on the filename. Choose OPEN. Make your edits, save and close it.

When you want to create a new document based on the template, it’s a different process. Click on File, New, New from Template, and the list of all your custom templates will appear. Click on your template, and a COPY of that template is loaded into a document with a DOC extension.

This is the critical difference between a document and a template. Each time you open a document, the document is loaded and you can edit, save, etc. When you use a template, you are loading the pattern into a blank document. You can make all the changes you want in that document and the template stays exactly the same.

Other Types of Templates

Templates are really just patterns that can be reused. They are like paper sewing patterns and digital embroidery files.

How a paper pattern works: You put the paper pattern for a top on fabric, cut it out, put the paper pattern back in the envelope, and sew the fabric. If you decide to change the sleeves for this top, you make those adjustments in your fabric – not the paper pattern. If you decide you want to make this adjustment again, you trace a copy of the sleeve pattern, make the adjustments to the copy, and put the copy into the pattern envelope for next time.

How a digital embroidery file works: You load the embroidery file on to your embroidery machine, thread the machine with your chosen colors (which may or may not be what the file has recommended), and start sewing. If you decide you want to make a change to that design, you load the file into special software, make a copy of the file, and edit the design. The new design is saved with a different name and the original file remains the same.

Just as sewing patterns and digital embroidery files make it easy to get a consistent design, they also save a boatload of time. Imagine if you had to create a new pattern every time you sewed a top. Imagine if you had to create a consistent quilting pattern from scratch with every row – a pantograph or digital design makes it so much easier and faster!

Are you convinced yet? If you have ever used a pattern of any kind, you will definitely enjoy using Word templates.

Template Ideas To Save You Time

Did I mention I love templates? If you need ideas about templates than can save you time, download my Template Ideas To Save You Time. Let me know what you think!

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