A Generic Thought Process

Dan’s Quote of the Month: "You get better (and your rating eventually
goes up) when you learn something new or when you identify a
mistaken idea and no longer repeat it - not when you win a bunch of
games."

I am often asked, “What is a good thought process to find your move
during a chess game?”
The best answer is, “While a chess program depends on a specific
algorithm, there is no single, fixed, correct thought process for a
human.” A human might have several different thought processes,
depending on the situation, and which varies with considerations such
as:
1. What is the time control and how much time do I have left on
my clock?
2. What part of the game am I in? For example, am I in a part of
the game where it is more memory than analysis? Have I been
in this exact position before, such as the first move of the
game?
3. What is the game situation? If I am losing terribly or if I
absolutely have to win this game and a draw is no good, these
will affect the thought process quite a bit.
4. Do I normally play the person or the board? I (Dan) almost
always play the board, but some people play the person more
than the board. For example, if those who “play the person”
think their opponent does not like complications, they will give
additional “weight” to moves that create complications.
5. How do I feel? Am I “up” for lots of calculations, or do I feel
like playing more by judgment this game?
I am sure you can think of a few more items that might affect an ideal
thought process...
.............

.... The rest here

I would advise anyone to start with Reuben Fine's Middle Game of Chess.
Then go to Znosko-Borovsky's How to play the Middle Game. (A very deep book). Read Chess Strategy by Edward Lasker. The old or the new version.
Then go to Kotov's Think Like a Grand Master.
As for the above, I never met anyone outside of a Grand Master who plays the player rather than the board.
Fischer prior to his match with Spassky, Studied Spassky's games from
a German book (The World History of Chess). Each volume on one player.
The only exception to the "rule" of playing the player rather than the board
in other instances is if you have played the same person over and over.
I have to guess this is how Fischer went 13-0 in 1963. He studied each player.
For the rest of us, a game is waiting for the mistake, the opportunity,
or out booking the opponent.