When I'm a beginner I like to 1. Go through a pronunciation guide with audio, 2. Read an article about the writing system so I know what the general things I'm looking at are 3. Read through a grammar guide summary online. Then look up a resource with 2000 common words and start grinding the first 1000 as quick as possible, hoping to get through each 1000 in about 2 weeks with a couple months break in between. After 1000 words, find some graded reading material I like and start trying 10 minutes of watching shows and building up. Then a couple months later grind through the other 1000 words in a couple weeks. I don't do reviews well so the reading and watching shows is my review of those common words. I look up words when reading or watching if the word seems key to understanding the main idea or I'm curious. I read a grammar guide summary already for an overview of what to expect in a week or 2 in the first few months and didn't memorize it or totally get everything, so if I see particularly confusing grammar I might look up that grammar point if I feel it's key for understanding main idea or I'm curious cause I keep seeing it but forgot what it meant. That all gets me about 6 months or more into studying. After the 2000 words I'm good enough to watch shows with no word lookups so yay go watch shows lol. I'm reading comics at this point, or whatever I think is easier material for the language like French it was nonfiction stuff.

Then yeah similar to you I just keep reading and listening basically. A bulk of my study reading. either read with no lookups for extensive practice, read with key word lookups for main idea meaning if I want to read something way above my level, lookups for every unknown word if I want to study a bunch of vocab in a quick crunch and boost my vocab quick so the next book is easier. With listening along to audiobooks sometimes. I did some Listening Reading Method since I find it fun. Eventually I try to listen to audiobooks. With japanese I do 90% of my reading and listening by just playing video games since that was my goal anyway. Repeat for years, chatting with language exchange partners on apps every half a year or so for a few months. I need to practice output skills more lol.

I do like testing study methods though for fun so the above varies a lot in materials I use. For French I used a comprehensible input book French by the Nature Method as an intermediate learner which was reading but also definitely filling in more basic gaps, I used Clozemaster like a graded reader for Japanese basically for a while, I used audio flashcards to study grammar/words in the beginning instead of reading explanations when I felt like audio materials more etc. Reading a lot is my main activity that got me far, and motivated me in the very beginning.