I always set an early game goal, like enough diamonds for a turtle or a quarry, or try to get an enchanting table with full bookshelves, or get to the nether for glowstone to make a jet pack. Once I get those then I just get another goal in mind, like a sorting and processing system that can handle the quarry output. I just keep on going that way until I get pretty much everything, then I try experimenting with something I haven't played with yet or working on the house.
Its tougher to give specifics without knowing what modpack you're using. I will say that it is a huge grind with gregtech installed and the first hours are seriously tedious for me because it makes some of those earlier things so hard to get unless you change the config.