Methods for altitude changes

Suppose you're in your small aircraft and you want to climb from 4000 to 6000,
or descend from 6000 to 4000. What method do you use? I can think of
several, but I don't know which is best/recommended.

For example, to climb from 4000 to 6000, I can just ease the yoke back and
climb. When I get to 6000, I can adjust power and retrim. Another way is to
just add some nose-up trim, then retrim and adjust power when I'm at 6000.
Still another way is to increase power, and wait until I drift up to 6000,
then adjust power and retrim. Various other combinations are possible, such
as adjusting power and/or pitch and/or trim simultaneously, and so on.

Which method do you normally use? Is there a recommended method?

I make a distinction here between initial climbs/descents and extended
climbs/descents and small altitude changes. I presume it's not necessary to
worry too much about constant adjustment of mixture or things like that in a
change of only 2000 feet or so--it can always be adjusted after the target
altitude is reached. Similarly, although power must ultimately be adjusted
for any new altitude, it doesn't seem that it's really necessary during the
altitude change; a slight change in airspeed isn't that big a deal. This
would seem to leave a lot of room for personal preferences, which is why I ask
which methods are the most popular, and why.

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