Along the way, of course, you should get in as much live practice as you can. Doing this will improve your listening comprehension and, more importantly, sharpen your thinking skills. Having to converse in a foreign tongue will force you to think in that language. And it does wonders for your fluency and vocabulary.
Getting this live practice depends on you and what's available in your area. Many colleges and universities have language exchange clubs. If you have friends or relatives who speak the language you're learning, ask them for help. And although it defeats the purpose of this method, you could spend an hour or two each week with a language teacher. A teacher can not only offer a chance to practice your skills, but can also smooth out any rough spots you have and explain tricky points of grammar.
If you follow these four steps, at the end of eighteen months of one hour a day study, you will have a solid grounding in the basics of your chosen language. You'll have done away with the most difficult and wearisome phase and will be ready to fine tune your skills and augment your vocabulary.
Learning a new language isn't easy. But no language is impossible to learn. It can be done with desire, dedication and a lot of hard work.