It's not a case of doing one or the other, do everything! You need game experience also to put what you learn into practice, and do a few puzzles everyday. I've managed to go from sub 200 to 1000 in a couple of months, there are so many resources out there to get better at chess if you're determined enough. I've hit a bit of a wall at the moment at around 1000-1100 elo so it's back to the drawing board for me for now. Keep going.
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So what I have been doing to get better was not play the actual game, but do lessons and chess puzzles almost every day. Is this a smart decision or should I focus on playing more pvp games?