Learning new chords

What exercises can I do to learn how to make transitions to new and more difficult chords more smoothly. For instance when playing a A7 on the 5th fret, I have to first bar and then lay my middle, index, and pinky fingers down slowly. I want to be able to instantly lay all my fingers simultaneously on the fretboard and form the chord. Any feedback is appreciated.

I had the exact same problem. Thing is if you practice you actually wake up and play the chord. It happend that way with me, I had trouble with a chord and kept trying, slowly laying down my fingers, when one day just BAM chord is complete JOY! :D

There really is no easy way around it, to become a more accomplished guitarist you just have to put in the time, and try your best to find your sweet spot. All of the proper fingerings are listed, and believe me there are some pretty tricky chord progressions along the way, but one of the best ways to get better results is to try and work on more than one arrangement at a time, that way you can keep your motivation level much higher than it usually is. Set time schedules for yourself, 10 minutes on one arrangment 10 minutes on another, and before you know it you'll have each part down pat...

-Joseph