If it is always the same commands, then consider setting them to use the
time command as an alias.
For example, if you always want to know how long a dd took, then use
something like `alias dd='/usr/bin/time /usr/bin/dd'`.
Of course, you will need to use dd and not /usr/bin/dd to get the
benefit. Additionally, if you set your alias like this: `alias
dd='/usr/bin/time dd'`, then it will recurse and bad things will happen.
Trust me on this :-)
I once did `alias mutt='LANG= mutt'` and when I executed it, I had to
reboot the machine to get it to quit.