if your house has stairs, uncovered deck, etc, start the top town. I have a wrap around deck and walk ways under them. No need to shovel the same stuff twice.

don’t walk over fresh snow - - shovel a path. This prevents packing of the snow and makes it easier to shovel.

I both shovel and have a plow guy. I have a large driveway and parking lot. I push a lot if my snow to where the plow can easily get it and push it away from the house. Which brings me to my last tip:

consult a weather app with an hourly Forecast. I use weather underground and schedule my shoveling according to the cumulative snowfall. I schedule my last shoveling about a half hour before the snow stops.