What Speedrunners Teach About Doing Things Efficiently

Speedrunners devote themselves to completing games as fast as humanly possible, obsessively optimizing every second through relentless practice and analysis. It might seem a niche obsession, but the discipline of speedrunning is a genuine masterclass in efficiency, in doing something as well and as fast as it can be done. What speedrunners teach about optimizing a task applies far beyond games, to any pursuit where efficiency matters. Here is what their relentless craft can teach.

Understand the task completely

Speedrunners teach that efficiency begins with understanding the task completely, knowing every detail of the game before optimizing it. A speedrunner studies their game exhaustively, because you cannot optimize what you do not fully understand. This lesson, that deep understanding precedes efficiency, applies to any task, because genuine efficiency comes not from rushing but from understanding a process so thoroughly that you can see exactly where time and effort are wasted and where they are not.

Find the optimal route

Speedrunners teach the value of finding the optimal route, the best possible sequence through a task, rather than accepting the obvious one. Speedrunners discover routes no ordinary player would find, radically more efficient than the default path. This lesson, that there is usually a better way than the obvious one, applies broadly, because efficiency often comes from questioning the standard approach and finding a smarter route through a task that most people never think to look for.

Eliminate wasted motion

Speedrunners teach ruthless elimination of wasted motion, cutting every unnecessary action and second from their runs. A speedrunner analyzes their performance for any waste and removes it. This lesson, that efficiency is largely about eliminating waste, applies to any task, because much inefficiency is simply wasted motion, unnecessary steps and delays, and the speedrunner's relentless hunt for and removal of waste is exactly the discipline that makes any process as efficient as it can be.

Practice the hard parts

Speedrunners teach focused practice on the hard parts, drilling the difficult sections of a run until they are reliable rather than practicing what is already easy. Speedrunners target their weaknesses specifically. This lesson, that efficiency improves fastest by practicing precisely what is hardest, applies to any skill, because deliberate practice of the difficult parts, rather than comfortable repetition of the easy ones, is what the speedrunner's focused drilling shows to be the fastest route to mastery.

Small gains add up

Speedrunners teach that small efficiencies add up, that shaving fractions of a second repeatedly accumulates into major improvement. Speedrunners obsess over tiny gains because they know they compound. This lesson, that small efficiencies matter because they accumulate, applies to any pursuit, because the speedrunner's attention to the smallest savings, each trivial alone but together decisive, reveals that real efficiency is often built from many small improvements rather than one dramatic change.

Measure everything

Speedrunners teach measuring everything, timing and analyzing their runs in detail to see exactly where improvement is possible. Speedrunners rely on precise measurement to guide their optimization. This lesson, that you optimize what you measure, applies broadly, because efficiency requires knowing exactly where time goes, and the speedrunner's meticulous measurement, breaking a run into timed segments to find where seconds can be saved, is the foundation of all genuine optimization.

Learn from the best

Speedrunners teach learning from the best, studying top runs to absorb techniques and routes that others have discovered. Speedrunners build on each other's discoveries, a community constantly sharing improvements. This lesson, that efficiency is accelerated by learning from those who do it best, applies to any field, because studying how the most efficient perform a task, as speedrunners study top runs, lets you absorb hard-won optimizations rather than discovering everything alone.

Balance risk and reward

Speedrunners teach balancing risk and reward, choosing how much risk to take for speed, since the fastest techniques are often the least reliable. Speedrunners weigh aggressive, risky strategies against safe, consistent ones. This lesson, that efficiency involves managing the trade-off between speed and reliability, applies broadly, because the fastest way is often the riskiest, and the speedrunner's careful calculation of how much risk is worth the time saved is a genuine lesson in optimizing under uncertainty.

Accept the plateau and push past

Speedrunners teach pushing past plateaus, continuing to find improvement even when a run seems optimized, because there is almost always more to gain. Speedrunners refuse to accept a time as final, always seeking the next small gain. This lesson, that there is usually more efficiency to find if you keep looking, applies to any pursuit, because the speedrunner's refusal to settle, the belief that a process can always be improved further, is what drives continuous optimization.

Efficiency as a craft

What speedrunners teach about doing things efficiently, understand the task, find the optimal route, eliminate waste, practice the hard parts, and measure everything, amounts to treating efficiency as a serious craft. Their obsessive optimization of games is a genuine discipline applicable to any task where doing it well and fast matters. For anyone who wants to do something as efficiently as possible, the relentless, analytical craft of the speedrunner is a surprising but genuine guide.