Introducing shared templates

A familiar place to begin

A blank note is useful until everyone needs the same information in a different order. One person starts with background, another starts with tasks, and a third forgets to add a decision. The team spends time finding the shape before doing the work.

Shared templates give your notes a familiar starting point. Create a useful structure once, then use it for the next project, planning session, or weekly check-in. You keep the parts that help without copying an old note and clearing out yesterday’s details.

Make room for the essentials

A good template asks for only what the team actually uses. For a project note, that might mean a goal, an owner, a few important dates, and a place for decisions. Leave space for context, but avoid turning every note into a form.

In Tidely, admins can share templates with the whole team. That gives people a common starting point while leaving the note itself open to the work at hand. The template should support the conversation, not decide everything about it.

Try a small project template

• Goal: what should be different when the work is done?

• Owner: who keeps the next step moving?

• Decisions: what have we agreed, and why?

Keep the structure light

Try your template on one real project before sharing it widely. Watch which sections people use and which ones stay empty. An unused heading is often a sign that the template is asking for more than the team needs.

Use short prompts rather than long instructions. A teammate should understand the template without attending another meeting. If a section needs a lengthy explanation, consider whether a simpler question would do the job.

Let your templates change

Your first version does not need to be permanent. Gather a few notes created from it and ask what made them easier to read. Keep those parts. Remove anything that added effort without helping someone act.

Start with one repeated kind of note. A small, shared structure can make a surprising difference: fewer missing details, less searching, and more attention left for the work itself. The aim is consistency where it helps, with plenty of room for your team’s own words.