Macarons sit out to dry before they bake, or they crack. The waiting is part of the recipe, not a delay in it.

Some waiting is active, even though nothing appears to be happening. A rest period can be the step that makes every later step possible, and skipping it does not save time, it ruins the batch. Treating all stillness as wasted time is how people wreck things that were going perfectly well.

Look for the step you have been skipping because it feels like nothing. Sleep before the test rather than one more hour of revision. The day off between hard sessions. The night between writing something angry and sending it.