People occasionally tell you，"Do that in your free time，"but in fact there's no such thing as"free"time. Even when you're lying by the swimming pool，that's leisure time --but it isn't free time.

    The most successful people are those who've mastered the time-saving tactics described here.

    Stay Focused

    All top performers establish priorities. Helen Gurley Brown，editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan，always keeps an issue of the magazine on her desk. Whenever she's tempted to fritter away time，doing something that doesn't contribute to the magazine's success，she glances at that issue，and it gets her back on track.

    One way to order your priorities is to create a"to do"list. Every evening，jot down the top20 tasks to be done the next day，and review the list several times throughout the day. The best way to accomplish what's on the list is to give each task a specific time slot.

    Pattern of Success

    Most people who want to get ahead spend useful time writing personal notes of gratitude，sympathy and congratulations. But when it comes to routine memos，letters，fact sheets and forms，they save a lot of time by relying on previously written material.

    Susan Taylor，editor-in-chief of Essence，has created some ４０form letters for everything from article rejections to replies to requests for donations. Stored on her computer，the letters can be called up，copied and customized by changing a few key words. Taylor then often adds a handwritten greeting at the bottom as a personal touch.

    Telephone Tips

    Financier J. B. Fuqua has made a fortune putting deals together over the telephone. His most important strategy is to make notes before he places a call.

    To avoid playing telephone tag，return phone calls right away，because you're likely to catch the caller and your messages won't pile up. If the person is busy，many time-tacticians make an appointment to call back. Leaving a detailed message on someone's voice mail prevents you from getting tied up in long conversations and will get you an answer more quickly.

    Do It Now

    As a renowned color consultant，the late Suzanne Caygill designed the homes and wardrobes of celebrities. To deal with all the demands of her schedule，she followed a rule learned from her seam-stress grandmother：If she had a job to do，she did it immediately. Too many people waste time "commencing to proceed to get started，"Caygill would say.

    If you just dive in，though，you'll be surprised at how fast you get things done. Remember，the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.

    Freeze the Design

    Perfectionists can waste just as much time as procrastinators . Thomas R. Williams，former chairman of Wachovia Corporation，discovered that many young people in banking don't know when to stop researching a project and start wrapping it up. Those trainees could have learned something from engineers，who are taught to produce the best possible solution by a certain date. Even if a design is not perfect，they've done the best they could under deadline.

    Whenever you streamline a task or eliminate a hassle，you don't just save time. You make your life more pleasant. "Dost thou love life？"Benjamin Franklin once said. "Then do not squander time，for that's the stuff life is made of. "

   人们有时候会对你说：“在你空闲的时候做那件事吧，”但是，实际上这种“空闲”时间是没有的。即使当你躺在游泳池边时，那也是休闲时间，而非空闲时间。

    大多数成功者就是那些掌握了以下几种节约时间方法的人们。

    专心致志

    所有获得成功的人做事都分主次。《世界主义者》月刊的主编海伦·格利·布朗总是在办公桌上放一本自己办的杂志。每当她受到什么事情引诱而消磨时间、做一些与杂志成功无关的事情时，看看那本杂志，她的注意力就会回到正事上来。

    安排事情先后顺序的一个方法是把要做的事情列成单子。每天晚上，把第二天要做的前20项工作简要地写下来，并在这一天当中，反复看几遍这个单子。完成单子上的各项任务的最好方法是给每项工作留出一个专门的时间。

    成功的模式

    大多数想获得成功的人都利用有用的时间来写表示感谢、慰问和祝贺的私人信函。但是，如果所要写的是日常工作的备忘录、公函、资料汇总和表格的话，他们就会依靠以前写过的文字资料来节省大量时间。

    《精粹》杂志的主编苏珊·泰勒起草了大约40种复信格式，从退稿到答复捐赠请求，样样俱备。这些信都储存在电脑中，可以随时调出、复制，只要改动几个关键的字词就成了一份专门写给某人的信件了。之后，泰勒常常会在信的结尾处加上一句亲笔写的问候语，以示亲切。

    打电话须知

    金融家J·B·富卡通过电话集中做生意，发了大财。他最重要的策略是在打电话之前把要说的话写下来。

    为了避免打电话时找不到人而捉迷藏，要及时给别人回电话，因为你很容易找到打电话的人，这样你的留言就不会堆积起来。如果那个人此时正忙，许多善于运用时间的人就会约个时间再回电话。在有些人的录音电话中留下详细的口信，可以使你免受长时间谈话之累，还会使你更快地得到答复。

    现在就做

    作为一名著名的色彩顾问，苏珊娜·凯吉尔生前曾为许多知名人士设计房间和个人服装。为了应付她时间表上的各种事情，她依照一条从她祖母那里学来的原则：如果有什么工作要做，她立即就做。凯吉尔说，很多人把时间浪费在“准备开始”上。

    尽管你刚刚开始这么做事，你也会对自己这么快就做完了事情感到意外。记住，种树的最佳时间是20年前，仅次于它的最好时间就是现在。　

    冻结方案

    追求完美的人与那些爱拖延的人浪费的时间一样多。瓦霍维娅公司前董事长托马斯·R·威廉斯发现，许多在银行界工作的年轻人不知道什么时候该停止研究方案，什么时候该着手结束工作。那些接受培训的人倒应该向工程师学习一些东西，工程师们懂得，他们应在某一日期前拿出可能的最佳方案。即使方案不那么完美，但是他们已经在规定的期限内做了最大的努力。

    每当你高效率地完成了一项工作或是解决了一个难题时，你不仅仅是节约了时间，而是在使你的生活更加快乐。本杰明·富兰克林曾经说过：“你热爱生命吗？那么就不要浪费时间，因为时间是组成生命的材料。”