It's your game do as you please
As a fellow th8 that believes that this game is boring after a while(it gets stale pretty quick) do as you please man. You are the one that has to look at your base every single day. These people might call you stupid or whatever, but it is your game. Obviously the most efficient way to play would be to get all your defenses up, walls and troops upgraded. That is all nice, but if you think you are getting bored move on bud and go ham!
Once you get to th9 you will be under leveled, oh no its the end of the world. You will have a struggle when people find your premie base, but you know what you can do with the replays? You can see the replays and decide what is weak. From that you can decide what you need to upgrade and what you should do next. You will have a challenging time, but you will have spiced up your game and you will be engaged in the game again.
Honestly there is only one rule to this game and that's clash on brother.