@Passiflora
The way I organize timing techniques is to focus on their duration, whether that duration is grounded in planetary cycle, or timing technique itself. This provides clearer lines to think about the duration of planetary effects.
e.g. transits might be more transient (they're not encoded into the natal chart), but that usually only applies to the faster moving planets. With Saturn and beyond you are looking at 2+ years in terms of ingresses, and patterns of 2+ years for any planetary cycles that are more ponderous than Mars/Jupiter. Some of the conjunctions that have occurred this year will set the tone for the next 20-33 years due to the renewal of cycles. So the enormity of events might overshadow those that may only be relevant for a particular year.
Saying that, I have been able to differentiate what has been as a result of the collective influences, and what has come from personal directions in my chart.
For instance, next LR will have Mercury/Venus = Uranus across the horizon, the SR that occurs a week later will have Venus opp. Moon/Uranus across the MC-IC axis, and the solar eclispe will have the Sun/Moon opposition along the 1st-7th house axis. What these portend (and I know what they portend) line up well with the upcoming Saturn/Jupiter conjunction square Uranus, and the events that will occur from that aspect will provide the collective landscape/events in which I can maneuver.
So -> longer/heavier cycles provide context/container for smaller cycles. And maybe one's creative will might be able to find constructive uses for the currently active forces. If not, it may provide opportunity for philosophical thought/reflection.