There are lots of things you can tell a beginner to do, such as reality checks, WBTBS, dream recall and many other things.

But I am going to be honest and tell you what I do, and if you find it valuable, try it out.

I don't reality check during the day, I don't keep a dream journal, I don't WBTB with an external device.

And let's go back to the origin of lucid dreaming. The Tibetan practise.

Do you think these monks have a dream journal? Look at their hands all day? Use alarmclocks?

No probably not...

What they do though is to be aware of themselves the entire day.

What is awareness you ask? Youtube tutorials might say that it is an act of becoming aware of your surroundings and if you are aware of being awake or not.
And well this is true to some extent, but if you really think about what a dream essentially is, you will see that a dream is only an experience of yourself, your memories, your thoughts and emotions. So if a dream is your memories, thoughts and emotions what is then the obvious way to practise dream awareness during the day?

To be aware of yourself!

Which are the people that lucid dream and use their imagination in the most effortless way?

Children!

What differs them from us? Well they are not in their head! As we get older we spend more and more time in our heads analyzing, juding everything we encounter instead of being aware of it. Right now for example you might be thinking about lucid dreaming and the best methods and juding your own practise etc. But you are not aware of the room you are sitting in.

Anyway my point is that awareness of yourself, your thoughts and the presence and now is the only thing you need.

Because your worries, concerns and stressful thoughts make you unaware of the present moment.

I thought about this and started to meditate as I went to sleep to get rid of all my worries before going to sleep and then I suddenly find myself in a vivid dream totally aware. I realize now that this isn't so weird since the dream is an experience of ourselves, if we are stressed or worried as we go to sleep, we will have stressed and worreid dreams, but if you go to sleep with a clear and calm mind, you will have calm and clear dreams.

So my point with all this is that I think you should practise whatever you find interesting and fun, but to be present is the core.

Sweet dreams!