Become friends with your barista. Or at least, be friendly towards them. Order your regular every time.
When they see you next time, they'll ALWAYS have it ready for you, and ALWAYS ring you out immediately after the hippo in front of you.
That's what I always did; we had regulars that came in every day that just ordered a normal drip. Even when I had crazy drinks ahead of them, I went ahead and grabbed it for them and set it on the counter; they always knew. I'd ring them out immediately, and go back to building hambeast's coffee drink.