When I import my files off the camera card, I see if I can apply some global keywording, like "Death Valley", "FWC", etc. Lightroom also let's me apply a preset of adjustments upon import, which can save time. It could auto tone every shot automatically, but that would slow things down. I choose to have the files organized by date on my hard drive.
Once they are imported I quickly review them, marking anywhere from 20-50% for immediate deletion. I've got too many hard drives filled up, and backed up so data reduction is a constant goal for me. If I'm bored, I can filter a whole year of photos for images that are 2 stars or less, and delete, delete, delete!
Next I rank my photos, 2-4 stars and start marking images I think are good enough to publish to my website. I'll also refine my keywords, marking individual or series of images quickly. Other software refers to this as tagging. In other words, think how cool it might be to show all your photos that were marked "FWC" or "Tahoe". Keywording is a chore, but can become powerful.
Now, I'm ready to do some editing.
Again, Lightroom will let me adjust one photo to my liking, then I can sync those settings with other shots which are similar. Example: a night shot with iso 3200 is going to need some serious noise reduction, crank the clarity up, etc. I do that once, then sync to the other night shots.
Everybody develops
their own workflow, specific to the software they use. I tried iphoto a long time ago, but quickly ditched it when I realized it was duplicating every image I edited, filling my little 12" powerbook up. Lightroom using RAW does editing differently. I use the analogy that LR remembers the recipe to develop your RAW image, but without changing the original file. When I used photoshop in the old days, I had to constantly keep track of which version of an edited file was the correct one.
I've had good luck researching photography on dpreview. Here's an
article that might help. Photoshop Elements might be a good choice.