Reduce Overhead with Workflow Templates

I sit down many times a week to plan tasks and (sub)projects. I use the five-minute rule for all. But I started to notice that many tasks overlapped, and as a programmer, duplication gives me the ick. I was also learning new skills I wanted to add to my workflows. For example, I remember during data analysis that I wanted to write down research questions before I even started coding.

I have a big pile of notes about topics like writing down research questions beforehand. But I don't want to re-read all my notes about effective meetings every time I plan a meeting. And I don't want to keep typing out the same ten steps I repeat when writing a blog. The point of my five-minute rule is to keep it simple. So, I came up with a simple strategy to reduce overhead and update my workflows more easily: templates.

What Are Templates

Templates are "master" files with your workflows. Like forms, they have questions and space to write down your answer. Templates can also have checklists, reminders or links to resources. You can make templates for anything that you repeat:

planning meetings
experiments
weekly planning

A very simple template can look like this:

This is an image of a markdown file with headers for each step in the Natural Planning strategy introduced by David Allen in Getting Things Done. It's my most basic project planning template. I insert the template and complete each step of the strategy by writing down what I need under the headers. I know what each step means, so I don't need any extra text.

You can make templates any way you like. You can create a folder with Word files you can copy, or you can use a knowledge management system like Obsidian. Obsidian has many extra options for templates. My templates are in markdown, and I use CSS and JavaScript for customisation. You can make it as crazy as you want.

What Is In A Template

You can put whatever you want in a template. Some rules of the game:

Pay attention to the things you write down over and over again
Write down things you forget
You can make many versions of the same template for different purposes
You don't have to fill in each part of the template every time. You're the boss. You can remove stuff from a template after copying it.

Okay, but what Does a Template Look Like?

I will show you my blog planning and supervisor meeting templates and how I use them.

My blog template is based on the natural planning template, with a few extra bits and baubles:

using a markdown callout, I remind myself to think about the audience and goal
I already added recurring todo-items
I can make new files for the outline and draft under the "File overview" heading by typing the filename in square brackets. This is an obsidian feature.

My meeting template is even simpler. It used to have many more steps. I removed them because I kept skipping them: it didn't make sense to spend too much time preparing. I use this template only for meetings with my supervisors. For other meetings, I have even less in there because they are different every time.

The lines above the "Preparation" heading are all code for the templating plugins Templater and QuickAdd. Obsidian prompts me for the attendants and location when I make a new file using this template. I use that information to find the note later
The markdown callout block prompts me to think about anything that I need to discuss with my supervisor, like if I completed all the tasks we agreed on.
I write down any agenda items in a separate list.
I write down meeting notes under the "Notes" header. Sometimes, I type directly in the obsidian note, and sometimes, I write on paper and then come back to obsidian to write out my notes in full sentences. This way, I can still understand what the meeting was about weeks later.
I pull out any TODOs from the meeting in a separate list. I add the TODOs to my task manager or relevant checklists (I roughly follow the Getting Things Done methodology).

These two files are pretty simple, but they help me a lot. I don't need to worry about forgetting something, and I don't have to type the same things over and over again. You can make it as simple or complicated as you like: find what works for you.

Power up Templates: Build New Habits

Templates are great for saving you time and worry. They're also live documentation: because they are part of your workflow, you have to keep them updated. But templates have another secret power: they can help you build new habits.

I love planning projects with templates; it feels like filling in a form. It's a fun, colourful form that's also useful. It's easy to add new steps to your workflow without much thought. Some examples:

I added a reminder in my experiments template to back up my results after the code finishes running
At the bottom of my daily notes is a reminder to list three successes of the day and three things I'm grateful for. That way, I always end the day on a happy note.
I made a new template for planning talks using steps I learned from a course, so I actually use those lessons.

Adding new steps to templates has helped me use new skills and develop new habits with almost no effort. You do need to find the best place in your template so you will actually do these things. If you put them at the bottom, there is a chance you will not see them or close the file before you get there out of habit. Experiment with where you put these new components. You can also use colours and callout boxes to make them stand out.

How to Use Templates

So here are the steps to making and using templates:

Write down any recurring steps or things you keep forgetting
Copy and fill out the template every time you need to
Notice if you always make the same changes to a template, like adding or moving a part. Consider changing that in your template.
Add components to your template for new habits you want to develop or new skills you want to test.
Experiment with the placement and styling of template components so you notice them.

And that's it! Remember, there are no rules. The point of the templates is to help you, so make them work for you. Even when you copy your template, you don't have to always fill in everything. Just use what you need. Play around with it, and have fun.