How to become a better researcher in a shorter amount of time?
My first, and maybe best, advice would be to do more collaborations. Collaborations with local and remote colleagues. Collaborations with students. Build yourself a circle of people willing to work with you so that you learn from each other. Start with your own advisor and try to get to be a part of their circle. 

Go to conferences and use them to expand your circle. Talk to a lot of people. Share a lot of ideas. Take a student or two along when you go to conferences. Introduce them around. Talk about ideas between sessions. 

Write a lot of joint papers and be generous about such things as "first" authorship. Work with people who you treat as equals and who treat you the same way. Give a lot of help to students and include them in your circle. Keep the relationship alive after they finish their degrees. Try to assure that they learn everything they need to build a good career. 

Build a critical mass so that better work gets done by the ever expanding circle of contributors. 

Do this even if you are an introvert at heart, as I am.