Save Time with Templates!

Gmail Templates

Do you find yourself writing the same emails over, and over, and over again? Make the body of your email into a template. You can even modify the content to personalize it! First, we will need to enable Templates in Gmail.

To enable templates:
In Gmail, click on the gear icon.


When the Quick settings side bar opens, click on See all settings.

In the Settings menu, click on Advanced.

Go to the Templates section and click the radio button to enable.

Using templates in Gmail:
One common email that I find myself sending to students is that they submitted a blank assignment. Though the email does not take long to write, a few minutes, the time really adds up if you have some repeat offenders. So make a template!

*Note*: If you use a signature, turn it off (or just delete it) when you make your template or it will appear twice. Not a problem but we are all about saving time here and it will take time to delete it.

In Gmail, click + Compose. In the new email window, click on the pen icon (to make a signature) in the bottom. Click No signature.


With a blank slate in front of you, type out the body of the email. Notice in mine that I have left areas to personalize it. I put those two place in all caps so that they stand out. Click on the three dots in the bottom right of the email for more options.




Select Templates > Save draft as template > Save as New template




If you put in a subject, then that will auto fill for the name of the template but you can name it what ever you want.

Now you can finish this email to send to a student, remember to include your signature. When you want to use the template. Just +Compose, then click on the three dots at the bottom right of the new mail. Select Templates > name of template you want to use. 


The subject fills in for you and you just need to add a few personalizing touches! Done - time saver!






Google Docs, Sheet, Slides, and Forms

There are a lot of templates out there in the world wide web for us to use! Some of the ones that we have already talked about are for Google Slides (I do swoon over Google Slides). Here is a small recap of some of the great templates:

Google Slides:
Google Sheets:
However, Google Workspace comes with a ton of templates for you to use! 

Google Workspace

Go to Google Docs by typing docs.google.com in the omnibox (URL bar) or go to the waffle in the top right of your Chrome browser and click on the Docs icon. At the top of the window is the Template gallery. Click on the Template Gallery and you will see a plethora of templates before you!



This is the same if you go to forms.google.com, sheets.google.com, and slides.google.com (you can also use the waffle. Sometimes we forget to use what is right in front of us!

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