Firstly, keep track of the map. Always. Watch where the jungler is, always keep an eye on your bush, warded or not, because there could be a jungler TP'ing into a ward there to gank even though he was at bot lane before. If you don't have a ward up, try not to push lane unless you plan on recalling or ganking another lane.
Secondly, play aggressively, but don't take as little damage yourself. If you have a stun and your against an AD champ, save the stun for when he's about to hit you and it will basically be like you made it that much longer. If you can't beat someone, stay under tower. Period. They will go onto you and rek your little ass and with champs like Renekton and Riven, they can be from one end of the minion wave to the other in a second to stun you and go all in until you're either dead or close.
Thirdly, if you're not pressured to tp back to lane(died super early, tower about to go down[not get damaged, but go down], etc.) then I suggest not using your TP. You should save it for emergencies.
And lastly, ALWAYS take TP. I see top laners not take TP, and the moment they leave lane I push like all hell and continue doing that until their tower is down because at that point they're vulnerable. If you're going to take ignite, then take TP anyway. Also, don't ever skip flash unless you have a free dash(can use without units[minions, monsters, champions]). Its mandatory and is not canceled out by anything due to its possibilities(running, chasing, last-hit, CC, jumping over walls, etc.). The only champion I find viable for skipping flash that doesn't have a free dash is Hecarim due to his major speed boost and enough damage to hold his own.