This really depends on what cam you have in the engine. If you have the stock cam, using the book method (1&4, then 2&3) or the dist position can work fine, but if you have a modified cam especially one with large overlap, turning the crank to get the cam lobe at the exact TDC position so the valve is fully closed, and the back of the cam to tapet clearance at maximum, is essential to get a good valve adjustment.
A stock cam may have ~60 degrees where the clearance is maximum, even a slightly aggressive cam for the B18/B20 cuts this down to about 20-30 degrees. If the distributor is set for 10-12 deg BTDC, this doesn't leave much room for error to keep the cam at max clearance position for making the adjustment.
I would personally do each valve in sequential order, eight in a row, in the firing order, setting to .018, with .017-.019 go/no-go. When rotating the crank, swing the crank back and forth about 10 degrees to find the maximum clearance. It may sound complicated, but takes only about 20 min.
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'89 245 sportwagon, destroyed by hit & run driver, RIP. '04 V70 2.5 T Sportwagon, 12k mi and '91 245 5-speed, 209k mi, replaced the '89