Okay so first of all let's talk about short recipes. Which are basically notes to self; like going through my grandmother's old recipe book I found a note card with a recipe for "pecan cookie bars" which was little more than a list of ingredients, an oven temp and a time. Was I supposed to mix the pecans into the batter or scatter them on top? Was I supposed to dollop them onto a cookie sheet, or bake them in a pan? If a pan, what size? Invariably, this note card was written at a baby shower in 1974 by someone who was chewing on one of said cookie bars and had that kind of context, and just jotted down the ingredients.
Those are useless to you unless you're B. Dylan Hollis.
Most other recipes, especially those found in cookbooks which are definitely meant to communicate to people who aren't familiar with the dish yet, ARE in chronological order. The ingredients list is a step you do before the "procedure." There's a concept called Mise En Place, it's a phrase from an obscure, obsolete Earth language called French, it directly translates to "put in place." The process:
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Read the recipe through, so you have an understanding of the full process and what is needed when.
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Gather all ingredients, cookware and utensils you will need.
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Prep the ingredients including washing, peeling, slicing, chopping and pre-measuring into individual bowls.
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Organize them in the order they are called for. Clean up from the prep process, store unused portions of ingredients, bin scraps, clean and put away measuring and chopping tools so you have a clear, clean and sanitary work space.
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Cook. Execute the steps of the recipe devoting your full attention to the process.
Some recipes will separate stages, especially if there's a large lull in time between steps. For example, a cake recipe might intend for you to make the icing while the cake is baking. These usually do have ingredients lists and procedures separated into sections, though some don't and you're expected to read and understand the process before you start cooking.