While it's useful to learn proper debugging sometime your approach is valid as well. By the looks of it you're using the optimal solution to your problem.
I prefer to code in Common Lisp on the REPL and do the same thing as you most of the time since each iteration step is so fast. (Change a function -> update it in the live running environment -> test ...)
Yeah the build times were stupidly fast.
Lead to some bad habits though - e.g. Why debug when you can trial & error 10 solutions per minute (on a weak box)?
The first time I used VB/C++ I thought the IDE had crashed because it took so long to build...