how can i get better at chess

before you tell me to study just know that i dont have the time to do a lot, i just have time for a game once in a while

May be learn the London System as white, it's quick and easy. You cannot tell me you don't have 10 minutes to spare?

Learn the Modern Defense to combat e4, d4, and c4. Then you just play chess.

I would definitely recommend.. tactics and books. The first thing to start with would be sure to know the main Opening principles as well.

• Develop your Pieces.
• Control the center.
• Castle!!!!

I hope this helped a bit!

[Moved - For Beginners_GC]

Im here waiting for the majic answer aswell.

Dear ImAGoodBean,

I am a certified, full-time chess coach and International Master, so I have seen it and tried it all.
There are so many ways to get better and I know it can be overwhelming.
You can learn from free videos on youtube, there are books at your disposal that can all help, but they are not tailored to your needs.

One of the most important things you can do is to analyze your games! You must learn from your mistakes! That is a priority. You can't really move on to a new, different topic and learn new ideas if you still make the same mistakes over and over again!

This is where a chess coach comes into the picture. A good coach can show you how to study, what to study, gives you the material YOU need. Naturally, it takes time to use everything in practice, but if you are relentless and persistent you will succeed!
You should learn the main principles in every area of the game (opening, middlegame, endgame).  Don't focus on only one part! You should improve your tactical vision as well as it is part of all areas!  
This how I built my training program for my students. We discuss more than one topic during a lesson so it's always interesting and they can improve constantly. I give homework too and the right tools to make practicing enjoyable and effective!
Don't worry about your rating and the ups and downs! Just keep on playing and practicing!

I hope this helps.  I wish you good games and 100+ extra ratings

I understand the situation. Play Daily games. Think about 5 to 10  minutes every move. Use Opening Explorer.

Play. End of story.

I'm in the same boat. I can sometimes spare one hour/week to studying chess and lately I've been enjoying going over the Grandmaster Repertoire series since it has a lot of material with clear explanations of motifs and fun positions to analyze. Having said that, it might not be the best for everyone, and doing some puzzles here and daily games could be useful. Whatever you choose to do to improve be sure it's fun for you.

PLay and analyse your lost games so as to learn from your mistakes.