172_driver makes a good point about commercial ops (at least on bigger equipment) but I think the thrust of what people are saying is accurate. Plus, in some commercial ops (think biz jet flying, light aircraft etc.) you will be responsible for all that (flight plan, W&B, fuel, etc.) in short timescales so the points are still valid. As I say, I was pretty similar to Chris when I first started flying because (a) I wanted to do a good, thorough job and (b) I wanted to impress - nothing wrong with that but my approach is very different now as I hint at in my first post above. Chris is at an early stage of commercial flying and has asked for advice from us - fair play!