Quick-win checklist

• Sort edges immediately; build the frame first.
• Group by dominant colors and gradients.
• Keep pieces oriented the same way to reduce scanning time.
• Use the reference image every 90 seconds-don't guess blindly.

Three drills to practice

1. Edge sprint: pick any 64-piece puzzle and build only the border; repeat until under 90 seconds. 2. Gradient hunt: choose a sky-heavy puzzle and sort only gradient pieces for 2 minutes. 3. Quadrant solve: divide the board into four zones and finish one zone at a time.

Gear and settings

• On mobile, enable zoom for 64-144 piece puzzles.
• Turn on sound effects if they keep you alert; off if they distract you.
• Aim for 90-110% zoom so pieces feel "larger than life."

Post-run review

• Note where you hesitated: edges, textures, or faces.
• Replay the same puzzle in a week; track the delta-improvement is motivating.

Ready? Pick a "Hard" puzzle and try to break the 8-minute mark.

Extended reflections

Speed improved for me when I stopped multitasking. I used to watch videos while solving, which felt productive but made my hands slower. The day I went silent and focused on the board, my time dropped by nearly a minute. That lesson still holds: one task, one screen, one goal.

I also rearranged my piece tray. I keep edges in a single row along the top, dominant colors on the left, and “odd” textures on the right. That physical layout means my eyes travel less and my brain spends fewer cycles searching. It is not glamorous, but it is efficient.

If you want to get faster, focus on one bottleneck per week. Pick edges, gradients, or faces and attack only that. Speed is a byproduct of clean decisions, not frantic dragging. When my decisions got cleaner, the clock followed.