Usually when I'm designing a world I have a theme or premise I want to use the world to tell stories about, and that helps guide the worldbuilding.

I guess simplifying could help. Choose only a handful of core resources (real world: oil, wood, water, minerals) and create wealth profiles of each region. Perhaps set up some basic trade relationships or political agreements. In older days, most transports were done using boats (instead of railroads you had canals with horses pulling boats). Letting the water connections define the trade could be a method.

You need a purpose for your worldbuilding. For example, a short story about a professional thief requires at least some development of police forces, a game of saving crops from animals probably not.