季羡林是举世闻名的大学者，温家宝总理赞誉他为“人中麟凤”、“人之楷模”。善于利用时间，是季羡林成功的重要原因之一。
同时做多项工作的“坏习惯”
凌晨4点季羡林起床后简简单单地洗一把脸，就坐到了自己的第一张书桌前，开始了他一天工作的第一个时段。他早饭以前在这张书桌上完成他的第一篇“作业”；早饭之后进入第二时段的工作，在第二张书桌上完成另一份“作业”；晚饭后，他习惯在第三张书桌上工作。他习惯在写作一篇学术论文的同时去做一个翻译项目。季羡林说自己有一个“坏”习惯，喜欢同时做多项工作。其实这样做的好处是：干一件事，累了，立刻换一件。这样一来，脑筋就像是新磨的利刃一样锋利无比，时有梦笔生花之感。
无独有偶。据说，《新约圣经》的翻译者詹姆斯·莫法特的书房里也有3张桌子：第一张摆着他正在翻译的《圣经》译稿；第二张摆的是他的一篇论文的原稿；在第三张桌子上是他正在写的一篇侦探小说。莫法特的休息方法就是从一张书桌搬到另一张书桌，继续工作。这就是时间管理的重要方法之一——莫法特休息法。
“间作套种”是农业上常用的一种科学种田方法。人们在实践中发现，连续几季都种相同的作物，土壤的肥力就会下降很多，因为同一种作物经常需要同一类养分，长此以往，地力就会枯竭。
人的脑力和体力也是这样，如果长时间持续同一项工作内容，大脑皮层的某个部位长期得不到休息，或是肌体的某个部位长期紧张，就会产生疲劳，使活动能力下降。如果这时改变工作内容，特别是转向其他形式的活动，就会产生新的优势兴奋灶，而原来的兴奋灶就会得到抑制。这样，人的脑力和体力就可以得到有效地调剂，使得对于某一项工作来说已经降低的效率系数在另一项工作中得到提高。
挖空心思利用时间的边角废料
频繁的社会活动、会议、拜访经常使得季羡林没有整块的时间，因此他就挖空心思利用时间的“边角废料”。他承认，“边角废料”这一说法是他自己杜撰出来的“怪名词”，因为时间虽然看不见、摸不着，却是一个整体，哪里会有什么“边角废料”呢？这不过是一个形象的比喻，如果全部时间都是自己的，那就根本不存在“边角废料”问题。
在不得不参加一些毫无价值的会议时，季羡林经常在会前、会后甚至会中构思或动手写文章。有的会讲话者空话废话多，传递的信息量却不大，这时季羡林往往只用一个耳朵或半个耳朵去听，就能兜住讲话的全部信息，而把剩下的一个耳朵或一个半耳朵关闭，集中精力构思。久而久之，只要在会场一坐，他便心花怒放，文思泉涌，一篇短文即可写就，还耽误不了鼓掌。假如久不参会，甚至会感到灵感殆尽，反而期望开会了，他戏称“这真叫做没有法子”。
此外，在乘飞机、火车、汽车时，骑自行车时，步行时，季羡林的头脑也总是思考个不停。有时候，他坐公共汽车，在等车时思有所得，便随手掏出一张小纸片，或从地上捡个废烟盒，匆匆写上，也是一篇妙文。
由此季羡林赢得了比别人不知多多少倍的时间，经过几十年的辛勤笔耕，他已经出版了近1000万字的著作。
时间管理有一条重要理念叫做“善于利用利用零碎时间”。阿列斯·伯雷在《怎样度过24小时》一书中说：“一天24小时就像是一只大旅行箱子，只要装东西得法，就可以往里装进两倍之多的物品。方法是开始不要把物品装到箱子中间，而是从边上开始不留缝隙地填充，特别是先将4个角填满，最后再装箱子的中间。如果毫不浪费地利用了4个角落的时间，你就可以把一天的时间当成两倍来用。” 为后世留下诸多锦绣文章的宋代文学家欧阳修认定：“余平生所做文章，多在三上：马上、枕上、厕上。” 三国时董遇读书的方法是利用“三余”，即“冬者岁之余；夜者日之余；阴雨者晴之余”，意为要充分利用寒冬、深夜和雨天别人歇手之时发奋苦学。董遇认为：“三余广学，百战雄才。”这正如谚语所云：泰山不辞微尘，故能成其高；江河不让涓滴，故能就其深。
译文:
Learn time management from Ji Xianlin
Ji Xianlin, a world famous literate, has been praised as ‘rare talent’, ‘public model’ by premier Wen Jiabao. One of the most important reasons for the success of Ji is that he takes the best advantage of time.
‘Bad’ habit of doing multi works at one time.
Ji works on his first desk for the first working section after a simply washing face at 4 am before daybreak. He will finish his first ‘exercise’ on this desk. After breakfast, in the second working section, another ‘exercise’ will be finished on the second desk. He used to work on the third desk after supper. Ji said he has a ‘bad’ habit of doing multi works at one time, he used to do a translation project while writing an academic disquisition. The actual advantage of doing like this is that you change to another work when you are tired on one. And so the mind will be always sharp and fresh as a new sword, inspirations will jump out frequently.
Things often come in pairs. It’s said that the translator of ‘the New Testament’ James Mophead had 3 desks in his study room too. Manuscript of the being translated Bible on the 1st desk, manuscript of an article on the 2nd desk, a half-finished whodunit was put on the 3rd desk. The method of rest for Mophead is move from one desk to another, working on. This is an important method of time arranging—Mophead resting method.
‘Intercrop and cross cultivation’ is a common used agriculture method. People find in practice that growing the same crop for seasons will obviously debase the fertilization of the soil. As the same crop often needs the same kind of soil nutrient, growing the same crop again and again will let the soil lean.
The same to man brain and body, continued long time on a same work let the same place of pallium or muscle be strain and tired and this pull down their activities. If we change to another work at this time, especially to a new type of work, a new preponderant excited area will arise, and the previous area will be restrained. Thus relieves the brain and body efficiently, and the depressed efficiency on one work will be improved on another.
Rack brains to make use of time scraps
Ji often has no constant time block to work due to frequent sociality doings, meetings and visits, so he rack his brains to make use of ‘time scraps’. He admitted ‘time scraps’ is a strange saying he himself created. Time is invisible, insensible, but it’s an integral whole, how can scraps come up? This is only a visualized trope. If all time is at your disposal, no ‘time scraps’ will come up.
For many invaluable meetings which had to attend, Ji used to conceive or write articles before, after or even between them. Some speakers said gassy words and transferred litter valuable information. Ji usually opened one ear or even a half to them and got all the information. The rest one or one and a half ears were closed, and his spirit was focused on conceiving. Once and again, he came to be elated and full of inspiration in mind when sat in meeting room, and an essay will be completed soon, no missing of handclap. If no meeting for a long time, he even felt all inspiration is going to die away and so longed for a meeting. He said this is ‘really funny and annoying’.
Besides, Ji is always keep thinking when on airplane, train and in car, or when riding bicycle and walking. Occasionally, a wonderful essay was got when thinking on bus or bus station, and it will be written on a piece of paper from pocket of a cigarette case from the ground.
By this method, Ji gain many time more than others. It’s nearly 10 million words of his works has been published after decades of hardworking writing.
There is an important concept in time management, ‘make good use of scattered time’. Alies Boray wrote in ‘How to Spend 24 Hours of a day’: “24 hours of a day is like a big traveling case. You can load 2 times of things in it if you take the right loading method. You should begin to fill things from sides without interspace, especially the four corners should be filled first. If you make good use of time corners, your time of a day will be doubled.” The litterateur of Song Dynasty OuYang Xiu who had left us a great many of beautiful articles said: “Most of my articles were made on ‘three on’: on horseback, on pillow, on closestool’.” Dong Yu who lived in Three Kingdoms period had a ‘three rest’ method of reading: “winter is the rest of a year, night is the rest of a day, rainy days are rest of sunny ones”. He meant he would make good use of chill winter, deep night and rainy days to learn more when others were resting. Dong considered: “‘three rest’ enlarge one’s knowledge, hundred of battles improves one’s stratagem ability”. Just like the old saying says: Mountain Tai don’t reject even a tiny dirt, so it can be so eminence; river accept every drop, so it can be so deep.