SFX Layering on a Tight Schedule - Workflow Tips?

Hey everyone,

I'm Brianna, a Casting Associate, but I often dabble in post-production sound on smaller projects to help out. I'm currently cutting sound for a short film we shot on an ALEXA Mini, and it's got some really detailed action scenes. I've been trying to implement the common advice of layering many distinct sounds for a single SFX event to achieve a richer, more realistic result, like combining cloth, impacts, and Foley for a punch.

It sounds great in theory, but with our tight turnaround, I'm finding it incredibly time-consuming. I'm spending hours trying to get just one action sequence to sound right, and we don't have that kind of buffer. I've tried pre-building some common 'kits' but even that feels like it's eating into precious time.

For those of you who work under tight post-production deadlines, how have you adapted or streamlined this 'layering many sounds' technique into your workflow? Are there specific strategies or shortcuts you use to achieve depth without sacrificing speed?