Are you looking to improve your productivity, or even just to help your team work consistently? Do you find yourself doing the same thing over and over, thinking “why does this take so much time?” Templates are the answer to saving time and getting more done.
When you’re working fast, trying to tick off all of your to do list each day, and stay on top of business development, business management, team management and client management – any improvement to your productivity is a bonus, right?
Templates really are the gift that keeps on giving!
Why templates can improve your productivity
Templates are gold. They are the essence that allows you to grow and scale. Templates improve your productivity by
- saving you time
- documenting the WAY you want it written/ completed so that you can sustain the high quality service you have developed when your team use them
- getting the steps out of your head and documented, so that you can IMPROVE your template (yes – you are hampering your business growth by keeping this gold in your head. Once it’s out there is space for you to add, edit and improve)
- giving you more space and time to serve your clients and grow your business. Without templates, you can get stuck in the doing without using these important systemising solutions to do the hard work for you.
- Templates can also just get you started if you need a prompt or boost. They don’t have to take over all of your business, but can be prompts or a canvas that’s not a blank screen – so the implementation or finishing the task is much easier when you already have a framework to guide you.
Not enough time to set up your templates?
Do you know your workflow inside out? Great!
However, the time to “set it up” as a “proper” template is one of those tasks that always gets pushed to the bottom of the list.
Perhaps you’re not 100% sure on how you want it to flow, or you don’t have time to train your team properly in using it, or you don’t know where to actually save it when it’s ready – so you haven’t even started setting them up.
These excuses are getting in the way of your business growth. 😲
I know. It’s a hard truth.
Every single successful business has implemented templates and processes to help them scale and grow. Until you take the time to set these up and take advantage of the time savings, you will continue to chase your tail and go around in circles.
Really not enough time? Then I can help you!
I help streamline and organise your business so that it’s efficient. Book a time here to chat about how I can work with you to get your templates set up so that you can get ahead.
Quick and Easy Template Examples to Improve your Productivity
Here are some examples of where templates can be used in your business.
As a business efficiency and project management expert, I also wanted to give you an insight into how templates can play a big role in saving time in your business operations, and spark some inspiration for you!
#1 Email Templates
Improve your productivity by creating a bank of email templates for every client touchpoint for delivering your service.
Then you, or anyone in your team, can send the emails and you know that the tone is aligned to your brand and it can still be personalised.
Some examples include:
- Welcome email
- Thanks for your enquiry, here’s our next steps
- Here’s Draft 1, please review and provide feedback
- Thanks for working with me
#2 Image Templates
Create some templates in a tool like Canva or Photoshop that have your branding, your images, your favourite photos, and the image elements so that you just have to go in to adjust the text.
This also gives you the chance to hand over creating images for content to someone else, as they can get a handle on your style and what you like.
This way, you don’t need to mess around with dimensions either.
Some examples include:
- Presentation slides for workshops, webinars and speaking events
- a variety of SM templates with photos of you and some without you
- promo type images
- landing pages
- worksheets
- Opt-ins/ downloads
- Youtube thumbnails
- Podcast covers
#3 Processes and workflows
Yes – one of my favourite subjects!
Create templates for your workflows or processes. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but once you have them worked out, you can assign them to someone else – giving you more time for business growth!
Here are some specific examples that I have documented and then developed into their project management tool for my clients that might give you some inspiration:
- lead management tracking and process to help you track all of your enquiries
- client management tracking and process to help you track all of your active clients
- social media planning, creation & scheduling
- annual and quarterly planning
- blog/ vlog or podcast creation
- launches
- webinars and events
- bathroom and kitchen renovations
- website development
- financial planning & reviews
- bookkeeping
- weekly prioritising and planning
- new client onboarding
- new team member onboarding & training
A few other personal ideas:
- exercise tracking
- shopping list
- recipes
- holiday planning
What’s the cost of not taking action?
You may feel like you have little time to set up these templates and get them up and running, but how much time are you wasting by not setting them up?
This could be costing you hours every week – thousands of dollars every year, plus the energy and time you need to get out and find more clients.
Improving your productivity using templates makes your business more efficient, and more effective. Taking the time out to create templates and systems for you and your team is a one-off investment in time that continues to reap rewards.
Picture your business and yourself once you have templates in place. You will be able to
- go on holiday!
- improve your productivity because everything is more streamlined
- serve more clients
- grow your team confidently and effectively
Templates and other systems form the operational framework for running your business smoothly.
Getting these in place is the next step to help you grow your business with a strong platform that can actually manage the growth you’re dreaming of.
Alternatively – adding more clients to shaky and unclear business operations is a recipe for more headaches, more stress, more money out and potentially unhappy clients.
Want to get started quickly – start with the easy ones that you know really well.
They’ll give you that ‘quick win’ dopamine hit!
You’ve got this – and besides, if you don’t, you know I’m here to help.
I specialise in making small businesses more efficient with project management tools, process improvement and productivity tips.
You can connect with me on Facebook, Instagram, check out my Youtube Channel or Pin with me on Pinterest.
