1: Make every move count.
That means work around the room once. Good maids don't backtrack. It also means you must carry your equipment and supplies with you so you don't make dozens of aggravating trips back and forth across the room. Walk around the room once and you're done, except for the floor.

2: Use the right tools.
Ah! Here's probably the major "pro maid" timesaver of the bunch. Give your specialized gadgets to your enemies. You need real tools that cut time to shreds. Most of all, you need a cleaning apron to hang tools on and store cleaning supplies in as you move around the room. The method depends on it, and soon you'll feel lost without yours.

3: Work from top to bottom.
Dirt follows the laws of gravity just like anything else. When you start at the top and work to the bottom, you won't be constantly re-cleaning surfaces with dirt from above.

4: If it isn't dirty, don't clean it.
For example, vertical surfaces are almost never as dirty as horizontal surfaces. Upper shelves and molding have less dust than lower ones. Often all that's dirty about a surface is a few fingerprints, so don't clean the whole area.

5: Don't rinse or wipe a surface before it's clean.
You'll just have to start over. In a maids words, when you're cleaning a surface, don't rinse or wipe just to see if you're done. If you were wrong, you'll have to start all over again. Learn to check as you're cleaning by "seeing through" the gunk to the surface below. Then you can tell when it's dislodged and ready to be wiped or rinsed... once!