Hey everyone! For practicing blockbuilding, should I focus on planning every move ahead of time (for the first block) or just have a sense of where the pieces are and then find the solution as I solve? I've heard both things suggested and can't really figure out if one would be "superior" in terms of improving blockbuilding, since they seem to be two sides of the same coin. Which way should I practice the most?
Even though I've used roux since the beginning, I still think my blockbuilding sucks (takes up the majority of my ~35 second solves) and when I watch example solves I have a hard time improving from it since I only seem to manage to recognize patterns that I figured out while practicing on my own. Whenever I get a scramble that causes a lot of interaction between the pieces I need, I seem to get the planning wrong and need to make adjustments while solving, or I end up spending so much time planning that I don't really "understand" what's going on and can't apply it the next time (or so it seems).
So should I go for simpler solutions and tracking pieces, or stick to carefully planning no matter how long it takes? I've been messing up the first block so often lately, I started doing almost exclusively slow solves and don't go past the first two blocks. Is it just a question of practice, or are there any other things I can do to get more out of my time when practicing blocks?
A few more things... How bad is it that I generally pick the color of the first block from whether the center edge is already made or is only one move away? Again it has to do with me just keeping track of pieces easier that way, but I don't know if it's a bad thing. Also I solve with both yellow/white as bottom and blue/green for first block, I'm getting about the same times on both now but I wouldn't mind going back to just one color scheme if it's worth it, if always going for easy center is lazy and a bad habit then maybe having more options is just reinforcing it?
