There have been two things that I have been looking for prior to a climb. The first is that the new altitude will be 1000 feet below max(sometime 900). I admit that there is nothing that I have seen in any manuals about this and it just seems to be what most people do in order to have more buffer from the amber bands(any other recommendations are welcome).
Aside from considering clearance from maximum altitude, when it comes to when to climb, I choose the first of either S/C being indicated on the ND or RCMD showing the higher altitude. I do this because I figure that if I wait for both(which could be 15 minutes or so), someone else may have taken the altitude that I wanted and I am stuck below them for hours on end.
Once again, I welcome any input for improvement of technique.