Watch all highlighted recommended episodes AND the "Honorable Mentions" episodes. Skip the episodes that aren't marked at all. Also I'd recommend skipping the pilot movie, just know Anakin is given an apprentice named Ahsoka (The orange alien girl).
Don't worry about chronological order. Just watch it in the release order using this to skip the not-good stuff. The short answer as to "why" is that it's an anthology series. Every 3-4 episodes is a completely different story with completely different characters. Eventually many of them interweave. Some are sequels to others. Some are prequels to others. That's where the chronological order gets weird, but seriously don't worry about it. It all makes sense if you just watch it this way imo.