Best Use of Training Time?

Puzzles, lessons, videos, playing against humans, playing against the computer, studying games I've played, studying games other people have played, etc.--what's the best use of the four hours a day I'm devoting to becoming a better chess player? 

Get a coach if you're going to invest that much time.  Only someone who has actually evaluated your play can say what areas need the most work.  The rest of us would just be guessing...

"... In order to maximize the benefits of [theory and practice], these two should be approached in a balanced manner. ... Play as many slow games (60 5 or preferably slower) as possible, ... The other side of improvement is theory. ... This can be reading books, taking lessons, watching videos, doing problems on software, etc. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2002)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627084053/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman19.pdf
"... If it’s instruction, you look for an author that addresses players at your level (buying something that’s too advanced won’t help you at all). This means that a classic book that is revered by many people might not be useful for you. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (2015)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-best-chess-books-ever

Hi Alex. If you're interested, I can give you some free lessons. I'll look at your games and create a study plan to best suit your strengths and weaknesses. I'm close to 1900 USCF and may be able to offer some ideas for improvement. Send me a message if you're interested.

Study...

Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond

I devote 4 hours each and every day too. When I was an 1100 online I invested so much time and effort figuring it out how to improve. All by myself no mentor nor coaches. I started with lots of openings variations and some endgames. Openings are underrated. Tons of tactics is an illusion.

"... for those that want to be as good as they can be, they'll have to work hard.
Play opponents who are better than you … Learn basic endgames. Create a simple opening repertoire (understanding the moves are far more important than memorizing them). Study tactics. And pick up tons of patterns. That’s the drumbeat of success. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (December 27, 2018)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/little-things-that-help-your-game

Thanks for all your comments! I will check out the links. 

Depends...what are your goals?  And yes i saw your comment about wanting to become a better player.

Become a better rapid player?  Because rapid is all you play. 

Become a better overall chess player? 

"... Most internet players think that 30 5 is slow, but that is unlikely slow enough to play 'real' chess. You need a game slow enough so that for most of the game you have time to consider all your candidate moves as well as your opponent’s possible replies that at least include his checks, captures, and serious threats, to make sure you can meet all of them. For the average OTB player G/90 is about the fastest, which might be roughly 60 10 online, where there is some delay. But there is no absolute; some people think faster than others and others can play real chess faster because of experience. Many internet players are reluctant to play slower than 30 5 so you might have to settle for that as a 'slow' game." - NM Dan Heisman (2002)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140627010008/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman12.pdf

Tactics for calculation. Solve them slowly and as accurately as possible.

Openings are great to learn about ideas and plans that fit to different structures.

Play slow games to put into practise the calculations and plans and ideas you've learned and make your own ideas. Sit on your hands before moving a piece till you've checked everything, yours and opponents threats, checks, plans etc. Analyze the game afterwards and check where you deviated from the opening, and try and recognize critical points in the game. work out better moves than the ones you made when you see your mistakes, blunders, letting the opponent get the initiative, not defending right, messing up an endgame, a check mate sequence, etc etc.

Coaches are great for correcting the errors you don't see yet but are expensive for a good one.

Personally I think building up a strong tactical intuition by solving tactics the RIGHT Way

Correlates to an increase in rating, regardless of learning opening theory, so maybe start with solving 10-20 tactics a day. Tihon, a strong 9yr old who has a presence here and on chesskid needs to solve 6 corect tactics per day.

Best of luck with the training alex, it's great that you're devoting time to study chess. You should be proud of such a commitment 👍😊

I suggest devoting one week per topic. Studying all in 4 hours could confuse the brain. Just my .02.

"... This book is the first volume in a series of manuals designed for players who are building the foundations of their chess knowledge. The reader will receive the necessary basic knowledge in six areas of the game - tactics, positional play, strategy, the calculation of variations, the opening and the endgame. ... To make the book entertaining and varied, I have mixed up these different areas, ..." - GM Artur Yusupov

Perhaps, there is no need to be like a clockwork orange or anything. Maybe just let your games guide how you want to spend your time.

If you are around 1200-1500 rating, then the number 1 priority must be to improve your tactics.

It is all well and good building a position up, but if you are not tactically proficient, then you could lose a winning position in 1 move.

Chess.com has a resource called 'puzzles', which I would recommend. 

Out of 4 hours, I would recommend spending a solid hour on puzzles each day.

Also, focus on getting them right rather than solving them quickly.

The next best thing you can do is play a rapid game (e.g. 15/10) on chess.com and then analyse it afterwards. 

Ha ha!