play slow games, solve many tactical puzzles, study basic endgames and some openings 
How can I get better?
Programs like Chessmaster have loads of tutorials, explanations of tactics and strategies, and annotated games to learn from... stuff you wouldn't necessarily realize on your own. You can get an older version on eBay for dirt cheap. There are also tutorials on this site that are categorized by skill level. Start with the free ones and if you think they help, there are more available with membership.
Hi fellow chess companions,
I feel as though my game is not progressing. I want my rating to hit 2000, but how can I improve? What is the most effective way of improving in chess?
You left this as a rather open ended question, and I am not sure if you want to get better at live chess with standard time controls or correspondence chess. Also you said you wanted to 'hit 2000' rating. It should be noted getting '2000' rating on turn-based chess.com ratings is A LOT easier than getting a fide rating of 2000 or roughly ECF grade of about 165 (England Chess Federation). Also I'm not sure if you want to 'actively' improve or 'inactively' improve. (actively training is intense training, while inactively training is playing casual games without analysis afterwards or watching chess lectures without intense participation from viewers.) I don't want to take 2 hours writing up about how to improve at all aspects of the game of chess like this so just post which rating you want to get (Turn-based chess.com, live chess.com rating, or fide rating)?, include what you think may be your otb rating right now, and tell me how much time you would be willing to study chess a week, also tell me how much time on average you spend on a move in correspondence chess. By telling me all of this I'll be able to give you a 'precise road to 2000 rating'. : D
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Hi fellow chess companions,
I feel as though my game is not progressing. I want my rating to hit 2000, but how can I improve? What is the most effective way of improving in chess?