Breaking into the 1100s

I've plateaued in the 1000s (rapid games) and struggling to make any more progress.

I play pretty much the same centre pawn openings every game. Any deviation from those usually ends badly.

What would the more experienced players recommend I focus on first as a starting point to improving?

Practice looking for checks, captures, and threats for yourself and by your opponents.

I can teach you EXACTLY how to think during the game (opening, middlegame and endgame). Your chess understanding will never be the same and you will improve a lot. I charge $10/h, but if you can’t afford too many lessons, don’t worry. I can teach you a lot in an hour. Here to help if you are interested.

You just need to get better at chess. However, you are unlikely to get better at chess without a solid grounding in fundamental chess principles and guidelines, nor by playing exclusively speed chess (rapid, blitz, bullet). As for the latter, you would increase your chances of getting better at chess if you were to....

Play Longer Time Controls

For many at the beginner-novice level, speed chess tends to be primarily an exercise in moving pieces around faster than your opponent while avoiding checkmate, in hopes that his/her clock runs out sooner than yours. And/or hoping to notice and exploit your opponent’s blunders while hoping they don't notice yours. The reason for this is that in speed chess there is little time to think about what you should be doing.

It makes sense that taking more time to think about what you should be doing would promote improvement in your chess skills and results. One way to improve your chess is to play mostly longer time controls, including "daily" chess, so you have time to think about what you should be doing.

This is not to suggest that you should necessarily play exclusively slow or daily time controls, but they should be a significant percentage of your games, at least as much, if not more so than speed games which, while they may be fun, do almost nothing to promote an understanding of how to play the game well.

Here's what IM Jeremy Silman, well-known chess book author, has to say on the topic...
https://www.chess.com/article/view/longer-time-controls-are-more-instructive

And Dan Heisman, well-known chess teacher and chess book author…
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627052239/http:/www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman16.pdfhttps://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/dan-heisman-resources

and the experience of a FIDE Master...
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/how-blitz-and-bullet-rotted-my-brain-don-t-let-it-rot-yours

As for learning what you should be doing...

Improving Your Chess - Resources for Beginners and Beyond.....

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/improving-your-chess-resources-for-beginners-and-beyond

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell

Longer time controls (15+10 or slower), and in addition to looking for tactics for yourself, start really looking for tactics for your opponent and thwarting them. You'll get taken by surprise less often and have more solid games, that should take you through.

thanks for the replies. It seems that speed is usually my downfall so that makes a lot of sense.