Stages in developing better control

Hi all!
I've seen quite a few posts about people who are getting started or restarted in getting better diabetes control, and LOADS of information on how to address it. One thing that I think is missing (although this may be somewhere that I have yet to find?) is a comprehensive list of stages.
For example, whenever things have all gone a bit pear shaped (as they are now), the first thing I focus on is basal rate to get that over night bg nice and steady.
Does anyone else have suggestions for the order in which to do things/ information on how this should be done?

The main reason I ask is that I always feel slightly overwhelmed when I decide to pay closer attention, as there are so many moving factors to it, and wanted to formulate a step by step way to address stuff. Of course everything needs continual adjustment, but having one new thing to focus on every few days would be an easier way to integrate better control. It all feels a bit ridiculous cause I've had diabetes for so long but no one has ever really sat me down and explained anything at all, it's all been varying degrees of guess work and feeling awful because it's not working.