This week has been tough. I have hit a point in my solving that I feel like I am spinning my wheels and, although I have been practicing my new algorithms, it still feels like I am not making progress as quickly as I would like. I consider myself to be a hard worker so when I hit a wall, it really makes me frustrated! I’ve been trying to remember that progress is not always a linear progression. This week, I feel like I’m in the last row of this post from Instagram.
I decided I needed to shift gears and look for a few new places for inspiration.
The first website I came across was Grubiks. This site is great for people who are just starting with the cube and are getting used to how the cube works. I made a video showing how the site helps to solve a 3×3 cube. Grubiks example. This was definitely not the site for me. If anything, this site just frustrated me more because I had to take the time to manually enter all the colours and then the solve didn’t use any of the algorithms that I am familiar with and it didn’t use cubing notation.
So, I turned to YouTube. I know that the speedcuber “JPerm” is one of my son’s favourite cubers so I went to his channel. I watched a couple of his videos to get new ideas.
10 Rubik’s Cube Tips Every Beginner Should Know
A few of his tips were actually quite helpful and I have started including them in my solves. Tip #8 is to remember that learning something new will make you slower at first. I needed to hear this (again).
The second JPerm video I watched was How To Solve the Rubik’s Cube FASTER with the [Beginner Method]. This method, although it says Beginner method, is still a bit advanced for me but I appreciated the way that JPerm explains the tips. I will definitely return to this video in the future.
The final place I looked for inspiration was on Discord. I joined a cubing community called “Cubing Panda”. I chose this server because it was advertised as “a friendly place where Rubik’s Cube solvers (cubers) can interact, ask for help, + more!”
I introduced myself and asked for tips about how to improve my time. Almost immediately, I had a few suggestions such as:
- make sure you have a good cube
- memorize algorithms
- practice, practice, practice!
So, although it was a tough week, I know I am on the right track and things will improve gradually over time.
My son and I are participating in a Cubing competition on Saturday (March 22) so that will be my focus for the upcoming week. My goal for this competition is to be in ‘not last’ place! As a side note, if you are in Regina and would like to come check out the competition, we will be at Rosewood Park Alliance Church on Courtney Street all day Saturday. Feel free to drop by and say Hi!
I’ve always wanted to try solving a Rubik’s Cube, but I’ve never quite known where to start—so thank you for sharing these great resources! It’s really inspiring to hear about your journey, even when it feels like you’re hitting a wall. I completely understand that frustration of working hard at something and feeling like the progress isn’t happening fast enough. But I love that you’re reminding yourself (and all of us!) that progress isn’t always linear.
The way you shifted gears and explored new learning methods is such a great mindset. I’ll have to check out JPerm’s videos—Tip #8 really resonated with me, too. It’s easy to forget that sometimes learning something new means getting worse before you get better! And joining a Discord server for support? Such a smart move. It’s amazing how online communities can provide that little boost of encouragement right when we need it.
Best of luck at your cubing competition on Saturday! I love your goal of being in “not last” place—it’s a great reminder to just enjoy the process. Can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Karissa 🙂
Two things I learned about cubing, one: You have to have a good memory. From your videos the tutorial states that you need to memorize your algorithms. ( This would be extremely hard for me) I find that sort of things very challenging. Number two: I learned that you need to make sure you have a quality cube. Like any sport or activity we do, having quality tools make our jobs 100% easier. I didn’t realize there were special cubes for this sort of activity. But now watching your videos and learning more about it, I see how there would be no possible way for some of those people who solve a cube in sub 30 seconds to do so with a cube that is too tight or stiff. They even use cube oil! WOW mind blown.
Thank you for opening my eyes to the world of Speed cubing! Very intriguing to watch!
~Shasta