The answer is... do what works for you and your schedule. I usually don't feed until 6 to 12 hours before I'm planning on using it. I feed and leave it on the counter. One thing that approach has done for me is that I have almost no discard because I'm using a Just In Time approach. If I need discard for recipe then I plan around that and feed sooner or feed, let it fully develop and then refrigerate.
After I've used the starter for the last time for a while, I do a full feed and put it directly in the fridge. That reminds me, I need to bring it out and feed it. I haven't fed it in about 6 weeks.
The answer is... do what works for you and your schedule. I usually don't feed until 6 to 12 hours before I'm planning on using it. I feed and leave it on the counter. One thing that approach has done for me is that I have almost no discard because I'm using a Just In Time approach. If I need discard for recipe then I plan around that and feed sooner or feed, let it fully develop and then refrigerate.
After I've used the starter for the last time for a while, I do a full feed and put it directly in the fridge. That reminds me, I need to bring it out and feed it. I haven't fed it in about 6 weeks.