I know you said you didn't mean to discuss gear, but if you're feeling a time crunch, I think it is a relevant discussion. You have a value decision to make. I see a three-way tradeoff. You can either simplify your ride prep by scaling back on your gear, live with the fact that it takes 30 minutes, or quit bike commuting for the season. Honestly, for your relatively short ride, I would do without some of the gear. Consider doing without all the layers. You're only going to be on the bike for 15-20 minutes. By the time you start to feel a chill, you'll be home. Just put a water bottle in a cage instead of messing with a camelbak. Do without the MP3 player. Don't worry so much about balancing your bags. I ride with 20-25 lbs all on one side of the bike and the difference is barely noticable. (Maybe it's different on a recumbent.)

I think if you want to keep riding, there is plenty of room to streamline your prep procedure. My intent is not to criticize your gear selection, only to point out that if you want to save time, that seems like the most obvious way to do it.