Here's what I say. Pay no attention to what some expert tells you is the way to go. Find a method that works for you. I'm sure I do a lot of things in different ways than people think is the best way. But I find what works best for me and I stick with it. I rarely use channels, and then only for color correction in photos. That's one of the nice things about Photoshop, you can do the same thing a lot of different ways.

Talent is God's gift to you. Using it is your gift to God.