I'm just sitting here wasting my time thinking I'm really learning English

It's discouraging to realize that I've made little progress in writing and/or reading English over the course of this year despite the fact that I've been writing here for almost a year. Sometimes it all strikes me as nothing but a waste of time. Just as disheartening is the thought that I might have gotten used to rather inefficient ways of learning language in the process, or learning anything for that matter, due to the complete lack of concern over how best to learn effectively. Maybe this is pretty much the same as saying that when you do things without prior planning, you'll very likely end up wasting your time. I think probably I need a tutor who's good enough to help me figure out how to learn more effectively. That's a real good idea. If only I could afford one. As I write this, it occurred to me that self-education needs at least two things: One is just spending as much time learning something you want to learn as you can and the other, no less important, is figuring out better ways to spend time and energy and money for that goal, which I think need to be reassessed on a constant basis. As the proverb goes, it may be true that if there is no pain, there is no gain, but it may also be true that if you just endure pain without thinking about how to get out of it, it could be worse. And even worse is trying one expensive painkiller after another believing they are the saviors you're looking for.