  We investigate how to minimize the work dissipated during nonequilibrium
processes. To this end, we employ methods from linear response theory to
describe slowly varying processes, i.e., processes operating within the linear
regime around quasistatic driving. As a main result we find that the
irreversible work can be written as a functional that depends only on the
correlation time and the fluctuations of the generalized force conjugated to
the driving parameter. To deepen the physical insight of our approach we
discuss various self-consistent expressions for the response function, and
derive the correlation time in closed form. Finally, our findings are
illustrated with several analytically solvable examples.
