Hey, I totally agree about relaxing. I think you also have to add a couple more to that list...

1. Practice clean, without distortion. It will really improve your picking technique. I thought this was overrated until I tried it. I was blown away by the results.

2. Listen to the sound that's coming from the amp, or the instrument if it's acoustic. I lot of people focus on what their fingers are doing, but that's not really the most important thing. How it SOUNDS is.