When Templates Will Do

I have a need for something very specific for a project I am working on. I've been trying to figure out how to create the "form" I need, determine which program would be best suited to my need and then decide exactly what I need to put into my selected document to capture the maximum amount of information in the most efficient way but also so that I am able to use the captured information EASILY at a later date.

Am I really asking too much of myself…to be able to analyze my needs and create that form?

I didn't think so until I actually sat down to do the work.

It was then that I realized I want too much – and when I want, I feel that sense of need and then of course, not unlike most people who feel a strong need, I bordered on a sense of entitlement. The item I had in mind had to have a breakdown for the Phases of the projected I am working on. It also needed to be a bit of a project manager where I could keep track of estimated completion dates, tasks and assignments. To top it all off, it had to be one page and have a yearly calendar on it. AND I just HAD to have all the features I was looking for without using Microsoft Project.

While I admit to being a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my forms, documents and template, I also recognize that I do, upon occasion, lack motivation to do things for myself when there is no immediate sense of gratification. (read that as "I won't get as much out of it as the hours I put in" just in case you needed a Jac translation)

I decided that instead of putting in a lot of work for this I'd check out the templates and see what I could come up with to use for this particular problem.

Well – wasn't I surprised to find that in Microsoft Word 2007 (go figure!) there is a fantastic template that completely met my needs – the Event Schedule Planner included all the elements I wanted with the exception of the task list. Taking a look at the screen shot (my first try here with this so I hope it turns out ok) I replaced the Project Phase section on the right (not colourful fields) and added the task list there. So now I have everything I need!

And it was as easy as a template. I spent less than three minutes looking for the template and another five or so minutes changing it to suite my needs. That was a huge savings in my eyes and actually made me more productive at work because I "cheated" and used an existing template to make my life a whole lot easier.

The good thing is that templates are available for so many more things than they used to be – and so many more people are sharing templates they create with the world at the Microsoft Office online site. Give it a try and see if you can save time – or if you have a great template, maybe you can help out another user and save them time.