How do I improve in chess.


That's great that you are looking hard at which things work for your chess progress, and which things do not.
If I may -- let me recommend playing "slow rapid" (aka classical), such as 30- or (even better) 45-minute games. If you have the time, play lots of them, it will help (after all, it is the closest thing to real OTB play)


You night find of interesting the following article by NM Dan Heisman, who goes so far as to say that time controls between 10-25 minutes can hinder development by causing bad habits. I encourage all to read the following Novice Nook of his: https://web.archive.org/web/20140627030447/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman115.pdf
It's an interesting article, because he does list the benefits of playing blitz, and of playing slow, but then explains why intermediate controls hinder growth.