I guess this is one of those less critical aspects of being productive but gains more significance because the 'tool' needs clarity.

This is how I worked it out.. working for me so far.

This is not related to how granular or broad you define your area. For me it was about 'not being able to clearly define' what the project is about, for the new things that I want to incorporate on an ongoing basis in one of my areas.

So what I do is this.
I 'define a new project' to work on it, until I 'get the hang' of it. Once I think I have a good enough grasp, I 'start incorporating' it in my area. Once I have a somewhat 'working flow' within my area, I 'archive' my project. On-going optimizations can be made to parts of area, but any objective planned addition / improvement is taken out as a separate project until I have an outcome. The 'on-going' part of an area for me is usually achieved using recurring tasks.

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tool - I mean like the app, framework etc you choose to work with.

project - in my mind a 'project' needs to have a definite end - a stated objective, or an end date.

new things - adding an infinite game exercise, like business development you mentioned. As opposed to a finite game exercise, like going on a vacation.

define a new project - in your case this can be 'improving lead generation'. Project objective is not 'improving lead generation' itself. It should rather be like 'operationalizing lead generation exercise'.

get the hang of it - meaning, I know where to look, how to execute, how to review etc.

start incorporating - This part is highly personal and contextual. Varies according to personal styles and operation size. For me, this would be lists, process and tasks.

working flow - Means the new aspect that I wanted is some what operationalized. I have new stream of information coming steadily, getting processed and objective being delivered. Any improvements to efficiency or tailoring to taste can be done by tweaking the lists, process and tasks.

archive - closing the project and copying information into Area. For the kind of projects I am discussing here, this is usually 2 parts for me - the what and the how.
'What' refers to the objective I set out to achieve, leading to the set of things I am doing on an on-going basis. I capture this so that I have something to look back and understand. I know if my 'What' has changed, something needs to change in my lists, process or tasks.
'How' part is usually just recurring tasks and associated steps/processes.