I've actually found that trying to "help" a villager by moving them to the place they're going instead of letting them walk can actually harm more then help. Sometimes they're doing something nifty that I've never seen before and if I were to drag them off course I might not be able to pick up the action they were doing again. So if they're doing what I want, like farmers and farming, researchers and searching, etc, I just leave them be.

A lot of interesting things can be found by dragging someone around and seeing what they see though too. So you might have a guinea pig villager who you drag around and see what they do in certain places. The villagers are your eyes on the island so using them is important! And coaching them in what actions you'd like them to take is a way to influence their behavior. If I see them doing something I don't want, like lazing about or off in another part of the island I'll drag them back and "train" them to stay in their job function. I also have a few villagers with multiple skills so I have people who can explore and possibly solve puzzles for me.

As far as speeding things up for your villagers - relax! Enjoy! You can always change the speed of the game itself to effect how things go, but personally, I use normal, sometimes when at work I pause!, because I like having the time to see them do all their crazy things and any new actions that might pop up.

Good luck!!