These days, the on-chain congestion is as bad as rush hour. You send a transaction, and it first queues up in the mempool, waiting idly: miners/block producers don't care how touching your message is; they only look at how much tip you're willing to pay. If you set your gas fee at an average level, you'll be pushed to the back by a bunch of "priority bumping" transactions, and as you wait, either it times out or you can't help but raise your fee and resend, which is like fighting yourself... What's more annoying is that the order isn't strictly first-come, first-served. Sometimes you think you're safe, but then someone suddenly rushes ahead or inserts a block, pushing you to the background.

The community is still arguing whether the extreme fee rates are a reversal or just an ongoing bubble. Honestly, when emotions run high, the congestion on-chain gives you a slap: it's not that you see the right direction and can execute; first, ask yourself if you're willing to pay for "doing it now."

What I've learned isn't techniques, but that during congestion, the transaction experience is essentially an auction. Don't treat it as "click and it should go through."