Getting your macros under control is a huge hurdle to cross...once you are comfortable with the actual mechanics and you get a feel for what your team can handle then you are good to go.

Its very easy to waste a tremendous amount of time on tradeskills. Right now I'm focusing on just having skinning/herbing/mining in the group for raw materials, plus 1 leatherworker, 1 alchemist, and 1 tailor so that I'm ready for any bop recipe drops that might come. Otherwise I will level tradeskills when I get to 70 if I still care.