Skill time
Some skill checks are instantaneous. That is, used during combat, they cost no Action Points (see Chapter 10: Combat). Some skills are used as part of another action in combat. Some skills have AP costs inherently. A few can take days or weeks. Each skill entry may detail the amount of time, if any, the skill takes to use.
Take Your Time
Slow and steady wins the race. On skill checks that carry no penalties for failure and your character is in no immediate danger, you can choose to "take your time" and use "10" as if you had rolled it (this does not count as a Critical Success). Taking your time takes a while! In game terms, your character keeps trying until the check is done perfectly. Usually, this means multiplying the time required for a single attempt by 10 or more.
For example, Bryan's character Phineas needs to hide in a warehouse so he can eavesdrop on a conversation that will take place in an hour. His bonus to this check including his attribute and skill ranks is +9. He decides to take his time for a result of 19, and the GM describes that Phineas takes almost 20 minutes finding and constructing the perfect hiding place, from which he observes the conversation without detection.