I think you have to take it piece by peice. If the sentence has "and" in it, then you can seperate the two halves. If the sentence has a subordinate clause, you can seperate that. Taking it a little at a time can really help. :) Also, I find it easy to look for the subject and the verb first. If I do that, it's easier for me to undersatnd what the sentence means.

I think you should pay attention to the subject and the verb first