Go to a software conference near you and you will probably hear talks on new languages, new frameworks, how to design code better, how to test better, and the like. What no one ever seems to talk about is how you can go faster.

We need to get faster at what we do, because it just takes too long. Why do you think companies and managers are always pressuring people to get things done faster? This is a tricky situation though — the challenge is to find ways to get faster without cutting corners, ignoring unit testing, and writing poorly designed code. Anyone can get things done faster by deciding to not write tests or not think about how to design code well, but that’s cheating. That just leads to more bugs and more work down the road.

Don’t ignore the importance of getting things done in a timely manner. I got to be a project manager on a project once, and every day I was looking at our feature wall to see how we were doing and if we were on schedule. I guarantee that your manager or project manager is doing the same thing. That experience and awareness helps keep me from not wasting time adding non-essential features or spending too much time over-analyzing things (be especially careful of this one if you’re pairing). I try to work with a sense of urgency, as if I’m competing with someone else who is trying to complete the same project faster than I can (without cutting corners).

One way to get faster at something is to practice. Find a simple coding problem, like the ones mentioned here. Pick an easy one (nothing with crazy math algorithms, complicated recursion, etc.), or maybe take a complicated one and simplify it. Try and find something that you can do in 15 minutes or less, but still involves writing tests and creating multiple files.

The first time through, go through it like you normally would. Think about design, write good tests, and make sure you understand all the nuances. Then go back and do it again and time yourself. Do it over and over, and try to beat your previous time. At this point, you’ll know how to design the code pretty well, and in order to get faster you’ll have get faster at moving around your IDE, find ways to generate code, or learn new tricks. This is what you’re trying to learn. Remember, you’re not allowed to cut corners! You still have to write tests and write well-designed, readable, clean code. Check your code each time you’re done and make sure you didn’t compromise in these areas.

In sports, there are the teams that are good on paper and there are those who execute during crunch time. You may be good at writing well-designed, well-tested code, but if you can’t get it done on time, no one is going to care. So take time to hone your skills and become a faster developer.