General Cubing Tips

As some of you may know, I've been cubing for about three years, and I only average 16-17. While this certainly seems slow, I would be much slower if it had not been for a few tips that have helped me over this time. Some tips don't directly help me faster, while others gave me massive jumps in time. I suggest taking these one at a time, and not trying all at once.

• Look at your hands when you solve. That's right; look at what your individual fingers are doing rather than the cube or the stickers.
• When searching for F2L pairs, try to stick to looking specifically for corners or specifically for edges. This has been mentioned by cmhardw a while back, and after a bit of math, it was found that looking for corners most likely has more of a benefit than the alternative.
• (fast-paced) music. This has been iterated before, but happy, energetic music tends to get me into 'the zone' of cubing where I'm doing my best.
• Talk to other cubers, in person. Little tips and visualizations in-person helps tons.
• Really. Go slow(ly) and look ahead. This can't be emphasized enough.
• Try out other methods…but then don't. When you get into cubing/speedcubing, be sure to try out a bit of everything, but make sure you don't end up constantly switching methods! You'll only just be 'okay' with everything.
• Have fun...or hate it.
• While some people tend to solve better on average in a good mood, I've found that I cube best when I'm in a terrible mood. Experiment with cubing and your emotions.
• Use your other hand. Try to switch what your 'dominant' hand is during a solve. Along with this, mirror some algs. I've got this to the point where my lefty algs are just as fast as my righty ones!
• Get off the forums. Really. Get off. Now. You won't get better reading about speedcubin', you just gotta speedcubin', k

-statue