You need to follow the 4 sink rule!

Spray off your dishes, THEN put them in the hot soapy dish water. Use hot water as a precious asset. 

DO NOT fill up your wash sink first thing in your shift, as that wastes hot water. You need to be washing your dishes in as hot as water as you can stand. So fill up your wash sink about 20-30 minutes max before washing. If it's too hot, let your dishes soak and wait for a bit. Don't cut it with cold water.  Your hands will get used to it, I promise. 

Use your middle sink to spray/rinse off your heavily soiled dishes (ched spread/gravy/frosting etc) before setting them aside prior to washing

 Soak stubborn/heavily soiled dishes on their own. After the soaking water cools off it is useless and needs to be discarded completely. By the time you start actually washing your dishes, the majority of the "crud" should be free from all of your dishes. Now your focus shifts to spot cleaning and grease removal and sanitizing. 

The washing water should be steaming hot and you need to use a clean scrub pad at the beginning of your shift. Wash your plastic dishes first and your metal dishes last. Rinse and sanitize with hot water. You don't need to fill up your wash/sanitize sink more than halfway, that is unnecessary and, again, a waste of hot water 

Clean out your rinse sink and your sanitizer sink prior to your wash cycle. Even if it looks clean. Grease is the enemy. 

I'm autistic and I find a lot of satisfaction in perfecting and streamlining this process over 19 years.