Similarly, I used to stress about loading the dishwasher when I was a teen. I would spend so much time loading it that I have myself a neck ache from leaning over and I could have saved time by washing the dishes by hand.

I still try to be somewhat efficient about loading the dishwasher, but… if I notice myself stressing I just say “screw it”, run it, and wash the rest by hand.

The other thing I’ve realized is that sometimes things don’t get clean if you load them properly. For example, tall glasses that had smoothies in them. It’s a little gross if you don’t notice it until you’re about to use it, but… you can just look at them and wash them by hand when you unload the dishwasher.

I guess this is all to say that sometimes the best optimization is to not think about it too much.