Speed Minyan

Long before there was speed dating there were speed minyanim. The organizers of these minyanim make no bones about it. They dispense with the formalities of Karbanos and fly through the davening. The Rav never attends so there is no waiting for him to finish Shema or shemonah esrai (These minyanim are usually very early and the Rav is either subtly discouraged from attending or knows better). I call these minyanim the 1010 WINS News minyanim; "You give us 22 minutes, we give you the davening".

Not that there's anything wrong with them. You just need to be mentally and physically prepared. You absolutely have to be there five minutes early because even if you arrive on time, by the time you get your tefillin on they're holding by barchu. As for the davening itself, you cannot afford to be distracted. You have to keep your face in the siddur and just go with the flow. There is actually something to be said for the intensity.

I bring this up now because MHW is off to see our older daughter in Israel and I am home alone trying to get our two younger ones out the door in time for school. In these situations, starting davening at 5:50 a.m. and finishing at 6:15 is a big help.