Most of us just want to get in and out of the supermarket with our bags of food. To do that as quickly as possible, we need a checkout strategy. The express lane, despite its name, might not be the fastest lane. Superstition-damned lane 13 or one of the lanes in the far left might be a better choice. Or do the math and estimate how many items the people already on line have in their basket. If you’re doing self-checkout, do yourself a favor and just swipe items without looking for the barcode. It could save you precious time.