How to Save Time

陳永新

We all wish we had more time. More time to relax， more time to keep healthy， more time for our friends and family， and more time for ourselves. There are hundreds of ways to save time in your life. Here is some advice for you！

Do the most important work first. Finishing the big work on the top of your to-do list at the start of the day. And then you can finish them one by one. Youll feel proud， and you will have time to finish smaller work later in the day， asking you to work more effectively① and save even more time.

Sometimes the most important work doesnt need to be done at once. Learn to tell the differences between whats urgent② and whats important.

Choose work you are good at. In order to finish the work faster， you should choose the easier work for you to finish. Some people are good at numbers， others can write well. If you have some porblems about your work， you can ask someone else for help. It will save more time.

Put work together.

Instead of answering emails every twenty minutes， preparing two periods of time and do with all your emails in those periods. Youll have more time on your work without worrying about them.

Have a leaving time. Almost everyone arrives at work at the same time each day， but when people get busy they often stay late at the office to keep working. By the time they get home the day is almost over. So you should improve③ effciency④ and make the most of your time.

Avoid⑤ too many conversations. Sometimes people at work just arent as efficient as youd like them to be. Dont let their problems become your problems. Learn to say no. If youre invited to a party and you dont like， say youre too busy， or you have other jobs.

If you must take part in， set a fixed⑥ time for the party， maybe 20 minutes.

Watch less television. Watching the television can be relaxing after a long day， but its not a productive use of time. Watching less TV will help you save time and make the most of the time. This will save you a lot of time. Or， take smaller steps， like only watching your top one or two favorite programs each week.

Save time when cleaning your house. Cleaning can seem like an endless work. Do the work effectively， and you can save time and have a clean house. Spend less than ten minutes picking up clothes， dishes， old newspapers， etc. and put them in their place. Do this every day and youll avoid having to spend a lot of time doing deep cleans. Follow the saying to stay in order and youll save time.

Questions.

1. According to the passage， what should people do in the office every day？

2. What is the meaning of the underlined word “to-do list” in the passage？

3. What does the reading maybe come from？