We talking about internal plastering? when i used to use that method I would lay 2 screeds on if small wall then screed top and bottom then fill in middle if large then start on right 2/3 vertical screeds at a time, by the time i'd laid them on and got them flat I could fill in and rule off....
to be honest now unless the wall has got to be flat within 3mm for tiling etc i won't bother with that method...I just whack it on ceiling to floor m2 all the way up rule it off then whack another m2 on top to bottom and rule off the last section floating as i go....works a treat and a hell of alot quicker, if the walls all over the shot then dub out/scatch beforehand.