I'm frequently amazed when I find one difficult then come on here and see loads of 3s and 4s, then equally, I find one routine and then folk on here are struggling like today.
I think there's two fundamentally different strategies employed:
1) Target letters that could make up a word, but don't actually aim for that word, instead use up as many other remaining letters as possible until you're sure of the word.
2) Aim for the most likely complete word every go.
(1) is what I do; most others seem to do (2)
(1), I think, makes failure less likely.
(2) maximises chances of a quick finish.
Today's word is a good one for (1)