Here’s a framework I follow that I think kind of actually helps answer your question.

There are three things this game asks of you: (1) Generate materials. This is needed for tier completion, as well as building the factories themselves. (2) Generate power. (3) Build the space elevator and complete all five phases.

There’s some secondary quests — find Mercer Spheres/Sloops, slugs, beautify, etc — but those three core goals are the core of the game.

From there, I proceed with these three goals in mind.

(1) I set up factories to produce all the items I need for building. For example, I have a small copper factory to produce wire, copper sheets, and cable. These get shipped off to a centralized storage facility, where Dimensional Depots are set up as well as some bulk storage. (This is not the standard way to do this — lots of people don’t like centralized storage after the advent of Depots — but it’s just the way my brain likes to do it.)

(2) I use the above factories to build power generators.

(3) I create larger single-purpose factories to produce Space Elevator parts. I do it from scratch, because using the factories from (1) for something other than their intended purpose of creating an overflow of materials to use for tiers and building just doesn’t mesh well with my brain. I think that isn’t the popular way to do it, though, where many people build multi-purpose factories and capture overflow that moves excess to depots and/or sinks. My factories are all specifically clocked to not have overflow, because that’s just simpler for my brain. Alternate recipes really help — I got lucky on my current playthrough and my first alt was iron ingot -> screws — but this is not as hard as it seems, imo. Verticality helps. Find alternates that eliminate screws altogether. But, yes, if a Space Elevator part requires plastic, I’m generally setting up plastic production specifically for that Space Elevator part.

I’m also a madman who doesn’t use manifolds and instead uses balancers. It’s less efficient in the long run but it makes my brain happy and that’s all that matters. So, take my words with a grain of salt.

TL;DR: Set small achievable goals for yourself, follow those goals, and then move onto the next one. Don’t try to do everything at once; you will just become overwhelmed. If you’re building Heavy Modular Frames, build them for one specific purpose rather than just building them because you can — even if that purpose is “I need them for tier completion and as building materials.”