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Hi Tetsuo,
I definitely think having a plan is a good idea. If you don't think about WHAT you need to learn next, you may learn a lot of things that you don't really need at this moment.
I think the most effective way to improve at something is to figure out what you want to be able to DO, and then see where your knowledge is lacking.
For example, let's say you want to be able to speak fluently and you notice that you would like to be able to talk about your job but you notice your vocabulary is lacking in your field of work. Then it would make sense to learn some new words that relate to your job.
If you simply watch movies etc. you will also increase your vocabulary, but you might learn things that you will hardly ever use. That's not the most efficient way to improve.
Studying grammar is obviously useful, but there I would also make sure to study the things you NEED at this time, rather than just go through a grammar book cover to cover.
How do you know what you need? Simply think of what you want to be able to DO and see where you fail! Do you need to learn more conjunctions? Verb conjugations? Are you lacking in vocabulary? And if so, regarding what topics? Do you find it hard to understand Spanish when other people speak it? etc.
I think that what you learn should be based on what your needs are at this present moment, rather than following a curriculum. Whatever it is that needs the most improvement in your opinion, work on that.
I can tell you what I did. I found out at some point that my vocabulary was much too small. I noticed that I didn't know the words for many household items I saw and used every day in my own life. So what I did was create an excel sheet where I would write down any word I was curious about in my daily life where I didn't know the Spanish equivalent. For example, I remember one day being in a bar and I saw this grate, and I thought to myself "hmm, I have no idea what that is called in Spanish", so I looked it up and added it to my excel vocabulary file. Then I would regularly review the file and try to use the words in a Spanish sentence I would make up on the spot.
This way I was improving my vocabulary based on what I needed, rather than on just memorizing a random list of words from a book.
You can do the same thing with grammar. For example, let's say you realize you don't know how to say "unless" in Spanish. Look it up in the dictionary or wherever and start practicing using it by making up sentences with it all the time in your own head.
Also, I figured that a good way to increase my vocabulary regarding a specific topic was to read ABOUT that specific topic in Spanish! Seems obvious, but I never really thought about it much. So, for example, I realized I had a very poor vocabulary when it came to music in Spanish (I am a musician) so I started reading books about guitar playing and music theory in Spanish. I learned tons of new words that way! You can do that for any topic. Don't just read Spanish in general; read about what you are INTERESTED in. That way you learn vocabulary that you will actually USE in conversation, since you are interested in those topics!
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