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how do i get better at chess?

I like to eat "Ofenkäse" (oven cheese) while playing chess, helps a lot and if you play OTB your opponents will suffer, no matter the position.
Meh merely doing is insufficient, you also have to study.
Try to fix some very simple objectives that get harder and harder, learn from your mistakes when analyzing a game, do some puzzles, learn some basic endgames and more importantly: when you're tired/bored, don't fear to take a break and then come back to it after 1 month or more.
"... Sure, fast games are fine for practicing openings (not the most important part of the game for most players) and possibly developing decent board vision and tactical 'shots', but the kind of thinking it takes to plan, evaluate, play long endgames, and find deep combinations is just not possible in quick chess. ... for serious improvement ... consistently play many slow games to practice good thinking habits. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2002)
web.archive.org/web/20140627052239/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman16.pdf
"... Review each of your games, identifying opening (and other) mistakes with the goal of not repeatedly making the same mistake. ... It is especially critical not to continually fall into opening traps – or even lines that result in difficult positions ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2007)
web.archive.org/web/20140627062646/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman81.pdf
"... Logical Chess [(Batsford edition by Chernev)] ... a collection of 33 games ... is definitely for beginners and players who are just starting to learn about development, weak squares, the centre, standard attacking ideas, and the like. In many ways, it would [be] a wonderful 'first' book (or first 'serious' book, after the ones which teach the rules and elementary mates, for example), and a nice gift for a young player just taking up chess. ..." - IM John Watson (1999)
theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/assorted-recent-books
www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1004861
See my answer to "How do YOU study chess".
Everyone is different, I feel that I could get better by not playing too fast.

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