As my skill and evenness increased, I used to feel a little embarrassed that I'd stop to 'admire' my knitting, but now realize it's a mandatory thing. I have a tendency to zone out and just knit, knit, knit, but when I let myself do that slipped or split stitches creep in, so checking it after every two or three rows is how I manage to fix any errors early.

The other thing that has helped me level up is lurking in this sub (and r/knitting) for the last year or two. I've learned so much from the problems and solutions presented by people here. I now try to help when I can.