EPTJust before the beta closed I was working on some things that really have been helping my play in ladder matches, basically I was winning more, and I just felt less outclassed when I did lose.
One of the biggest things, and one that I highly recommend, is watching my own replays, especially of the games that I lose, and identifying my mistakes and the reasons why certain battles were won or lost. This has been a tremendous help, especially in identifying what builds work and do not, and why certain unit combination's are effect and when they should be used.
I also got around to using the build tester by QXC. Previously I had basically been trying to copycat other peoples builds or even worse, just playing it by the ear. Now I can say that I have at least one decent build for each race, though Zerg is by far my best race overall. It's nice just to be able to put your own stamp on a build, rather than always being reliant on other peoples.
The last big thing I have been doing is basically scrimmaging a lot outside of ladder matches. I have a friend who is a Diamond level player and so I've been playing against him a ton. I lose most of the time, but just being able to take a game here and there is enough to make me think I'm making progress.
Anyway, here's to the next couple of weeks without the beta
and the rapid degeneration of my SCII skills. 
