Yup, tactics work!! They help by giving you the ability to recognize similar patterns in your games and then knowing the best move/the idea behind that pattern.
Online tactical sites will give better results than books because you're able to cycle through them a lot quicker. Examples from books may help more when studying specific motifs or mating patterns.
Try to maintain a manageable routine of tactics per day, and take your time on each tactic so as to improve your calculating through of various candidate moves. Good luck!
I enjoy doing chess tactics to improve my chess but I was wondering how and does it actually improve your chess skills. I also read somewhere that online chess tactics don't work compared to the ones in brought books and programs, is this true? I use chess tempo for doing chess tactics and want to know if this works for training tactics. Answers greatly appreciated