Seems good!
About the Monero software, try using Feather Wallet. It gives you more infos about your outputs (you can select each one individually), handles everything better, and usually syncs faster (with remote nodes). I advise using Tor nodes (Tor support built-in) or using a VPN
Use a trusted remote node, as they’re currently pretty much able to track which outputs are used as decoys, as your client asks for them
Locally syncing by downloading the blockchain is still the best way as you will leak less things, but is super slow. Pick your poison (or run your own remote node!)