how to improve

If it were demonstrably true that doing a headstand for 5-minutes a day would make you a GrandMaster of chess, and filthy rich as well, most people would still not do it.

People ask for advice all the time (not only about chess), and they often get good advice from people that know what they are talking about, yet they rarely take it.

Fingers crossed that Mr. Melo is smart enough to buck the trend.

The best way to improve depends on the person (personality, time available), your skill level, and your goals.

Playing over games like Urk described is a good one. IMO tactics grouped by theme is also good in the beginning.

Some books you might find interesting:

https://www.amazon.com/Masters-Chessboard-Richard-Reti/dp/092389148X
https://www.amazon.com/1001-Winning-Chess-Sacrifices-Combinations/dp/0879801115

As Telestu said, it depends heavily on the player's level, what they already know, etc. While your method will be useful for intermediate players, for a real beginner like the original poster, I'd recommend annotated games, rather than just lots and lots of unannotated master games. "Logical Chess: Move by Move" by Irving Chernev is the usual recommendation for that, followed by his "Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played". 

And, lots and lots of tactics puzzles, preferably puzzle sets chosen for their instructional value, rather than random puzzles from the internet. I'd recommend starting with Dan Heisman's "Back to Basics: Tactics" for a beginner. Go through all the puzzles in there over and over until you can spot the solutions instantly. That might take 5-7 times through the book, but it'll be well worth it in improvement. Then move on to harder puzzles.

Along with those two things, I'd recommend picking up Silman's Complete Endgame Course, and reading the first two chapters. You can come back to it for the more complex stuff later.

And avoid opening study. Seriously. This is the biggest time sucking mistake made by amateur players. Study master games, play a variety of the openings you see, and study your games afterwards, including looking up the opening to see how you could have played it better. That way, you'll pick up bits and pieces of opening knowledge in more easily digestible chunks.