This is the wrong mentality, or is phrased poorly. What you want is to become a better problem solver - solving problems better means you can then waste less t

This is the wrong mentality, or is phrased poorly. What you want is to become a better problem solver - solving problems better means you can then waste less time with stray thoughts and spend minimal time coding unnecessarily. For this, I highly recommend trying some elementary math proof-based texts in number theory, abstract algebra, or real analysis. With math, you learn how to structure your thoughts in a coherent fashion, then logically rule out deadend/inefficient lines of approach. Speaking personally, it has helped me immensely at figuring out the true source of bugs, and creating the optimal fix for them at an impressive speed - most of this work is without writing a single line of code. When it comes to actually writing code, I have found it to just be an exercise in repetition. As you write more code, you become more familiar with what you can do, and with the right critical thinking skills, you can then become much faster.