Getting fast doesn't happen overnight of course, but once you "get the grip" on the algorithms, and get used to it, the fast solves you once had becomes the normal, common times. So just learn something new (new algo) and believe in yourself! When I was at this stage, I always read other people's tips on cubing and getting faster, such that I almost hear it while I cube (lol). Just keep on thinking about what's to improve, and taking a video of your solve really helps to tell where you're good, and where you need to get better at...and delays, etc. Because you might not notice them while you're solving it.
Looking ahead for me was actually something I used to forget to do--I just pick it up, and start solving a c/e pair, then I was kinda lost, but I didn't really felt the delay. But once I kept on reassuring..."It's okay, just look somewhere else, I trust my hands, they'll turn the cube and solve that c/e pair while my eyes are looking for other ones...yes it's gonna happen like that...YES...ok....yah...*deep breathe*" But as you get used to it, you'll instantly can tell how the next c/e pair will be like after you finish solving the current one, because you've seen the same kind of position like this before. And that's what let fast cubers turn fast and not blank out and pause for 3 seconds. Sometimes you'll just feel it coming...it's strange...try doing 2 pairs in one look. I don't actually see them in my hand much (bad at visualizing now...people hit me in the head before), but I can "feel" which face it's at, and which orientation it's in.
anyway...time to sleep for me XD
-Harris
PS I got sub 20 in 91 days (around 3 months) from when I first got it solved. I wasted the first week or so on the Rubiks.com solution...then I learned the keyhole method (yah, not the layer by layer beginner's one), but the LL on the site was bizzare (CLL then ELL i think). But then I got tips from Dave Campbell, and saw Joel's site. I was averaging around 30s when I had semi-F2L. After I learned all the PLL cases (I usually learn the nastier ones first (diagonal corners switch...because I lose too much time on them with the 2 step PLL) and a couple OLL...and brush up on my F2L...got the first sub 20 (19.96) for Sunday Contest. Yah...16 seconds was fast before XD The average was at 91st rank on the 3x3 Unofficial World Record ranking back then...now there are many more cubers, and the current 100ths place is at 17.94 seconds, which would be at 25th place in 2004s)
