While it may have been interpreted in this way, To be clear this isn’t the intent behind the question. I really want to know about shortcuts, or (“techniques”, as Yo says). Things that improve the speed/efficiency of the process. To me, the word “Shortcut” shouldn’t have a negative connotation, necessarily.
While I suppose the whole “Practice” argument is valid, I think that to most this should go beyond saying.
Designers are problem solvers at their root, right? Well what solutions have designers found that address their design process? While I’m sure we would all love a month to sketch on a subject, in the real world that doesn’t happen. I wanted to harvest the collective knowledge here to see where the process can be improved.