Shunter, that is how I do it too. It has its pros and cons though, and if there are better methods I want to use them. But I do not understand how to employ the methods I mentioned in practice, so I can not say that our method (which I am sure 99.9999% of all private pilots use, with varying success...) is better. I need to understand them first.
"Common sense", IMV, is a necessary but not sufficient condition for safe flight.
2hotwot, I do not quite understand your comment... TEM is a subset of what the FAA document I referenced deals with. I don't suppose anyone is suggesting reading TEM handbooks in the cockpit as a risk management practice?!