I've honestly followed a lot of advice, since I only started to draw seriously this past year and a half, I needed all the help I could get.
A big thing that's probably been mentioned was that if you draw a lot the rest will come at some point. So, for someone like me that has always had a really hard time trying to focus on learning basic stuff (like doing studies on proportions and stuff) it was a better option to draw as often as I can. I do studies in a different way. If I don't know how a hand is supposed to look, I use a reference for that one hand. If I'm feeling up to it (which isn't often) I'll take a bit and play around with studies, but it's few and far between. Idk, I always feel bogged down and intimidated by general studies.
Most people know what a person is supposed to look like, so eventually proper proportions should happen with your art. I've had this discussion with a few fellow artist friends, and they agree. Rigid studies aren't for everyone. They're not a bad thing to do, but they're also not as neccessary as some people like to think they are. Over all, I think as long as you draw often, you'll get good at it. Even if it is at a slower pace. Or unorthodox.
Another piece of advice, that honestly is taking me a long time to properly utilize, is making sure to use darker tones in shading. I use a lot of soft colors, mostly cause I'm not comfortable with coloring in general and soft tones feel safer for some reason. So whenever I catch myself I'll try to add darker tones where they need be, and OH BOY it makes a difference. It's a frustrating thing on my end where I know that my line art is a few steeps above skill wise than my coloring skill is...but I'm trying to catch it up. Haha.