A good template removes 80% of setup work. A bad one creates a project that doesn't match reality. Five principles separate good from bad.
1. Templates per project type, not per client
A "Brand audit" template fits any client buying that engagement. Don't make per-client templates — they fork forever and never get updated.
2. Tasks should be outcomes, not actions
"Discovery deliverable approved" (outcome) beats "Have discovery meeting" (action). Outcomes are sign-off-able; actions are just calendar events.
3. Leave 20% blank intentionally
Don't pre-fill every task. The first session with the project lead should reveal the missing 20% specific to this engagement. Templates with 100% pre-fill never get tailored.
4. Link templates to contract clauses
If your template names match contract deliverables verbatim, change-requests are trivial: "Clause 4.2 says X — this maps to milestone Y — that's out of scope until we sign change-order Z."
5. Review templates quarterly
Templates rot. Every quarter, pull the last 5 closed projects of a type, see what wasn't in the template that should've been. Update.