This may be airplane specific, and totally a matter of technique, but some guys on the B744 will bring the first constraint on an arrival down to the scratchpad and add a /-4 after it, then insert that waypoint over the first constraint waypoint and insert the same airspeed on the right as the respective constraint waypoint. This fools the FMC into planning on being where it should -- but often isn't -- about 4 miles prior. It seems to work well for them and it beats having to pull out the boards after it becomes apparent that the airplane is not going to make it down.