System Updates

Don't skip updates.

This is your first Mac right? The best approach would be to wait till you're going to bed or you're going to be out for a while and let it download everything and then restart - don't be surprised if the restart takes a while (minutes or more) because your first update is a big one.

I run System Update when a new update comes out (MacRumors alerts us to any of them so I know when they happen).

As far as I know you can't reclaim downloads if you quit during the download (unlike Safari where you can quit and resume downloads) you have to let it run it's course. If you want to just download the smaller ones then uncheck the big ones in the list of updates.

And just a hint, in Safari if that is what you are using, go to Edit -> Spelling and select "Check Spelling as you type" - this turns on the system-wide spell check so that when you are typing in any program that makes use of the built-in dictionary (Safari, Adium I think, all of the iApps etc.) will alert you to spelling mistakes. It will just make answering an reading your questions a little easier.

Hope this helps.