My neighbor's comment about my mud work made me stop and think

I was finishing a basement in Springfield and my neighbor, Frank, who used to be a painter, watched me for a minute. He said, 'You know, you're sanding that second coat like it's the third. You're just making more dust for yourself.' He was right. I was overworking a fill coat on a long wall, adding maybe 30 minutes of extra sanding for no real gain. Anyone else catch themselves doing extra steps that don't actually improve the finish?