Straight ins are a normal part of an efficient operation. I conduct them whenever I can. I find sitting out there on a 5-7 mile final gives a good chance to appraise what's going on the circuit and you can still make adjustments to fit in with other traffic if there is any.
The ag blokes out there can teach us all a thing or two about how to manipulate an aircraft through the air.
It's amazing how motivated you can be to streamline your appraoch when you are flying a machine operating at around $1200 / hr