Final Fantasy XI: Initial Goals

If you're just starting to play Final Fantasy XI (looking at you, Byung!) what should you be trying to do at the start? Here's a short list of things that seem important to me:

• Play around with the external settings to get the game to launch in windowed mode. Today's computers are a lot better than PS2 era computers and they slowly added a few extra things like windowed mode to the game. I think I toggled most if not all of the settings available but windowed mode is by far the most important. Start -> PlayOnline -> Final Fantasy XI -> Final Fantasy XI Config
• Throw your mouse away. The game was designed for the PS2 so it works well with a controller. They did a pretty good job making a keyboard emulate a PS2 controller. They did not do a good job integrating the mouse. Feel free to give it a try, but everyone else I know said things made more sense without the mouse.
• Use the numpad to move around. 7 toggles autorun. / toggles walking mode. * toggles auto-lock if you have a target and toggles resting for hp/mp if you don't. - brings up the main menu.
• If at all possible get in touch with me outside the game so I can get you into the linkshell (guild) ASAP. In game you can send messages to people with /t name message. My character is Ziggyny. 
• There's a starting NPC when you first log in that gives you an item to trade to another NPC. Trading is done via the numpad - menu. Tab is the best way I've found to target things. So you need to run up to the right NPC, tab to him, hit -, and trade.
• I believe they direct you over that way, but your next step should be to run a long way East until you're at the gates to Eastern Saruta-Baruta. There are two important NPCs here. Selele gives you a series of easy quests with good rewards that walk you through part of the game. Tih Pekeh starts a series of missions which are the main plotline for the original game. 
• Just outside town is a book called a 'Field Manual'. You can get a quest from the book (individual training, grab a page to do that quest). These quests are just kill some dudes for bonus experience, gil, and tabs. Tabs are used to buy buffs and to teleport home and are really good to have. Do book quests when you can!
• Earn 9980 gil. Spend it at an artisan moogle for 30 more storage slots in your mog house.
• Build macros for your abilities. Macros are activated with ALT-1..0 or CTRL-1..0. They can have up to 6 lines and you can stack multiple commands into one macro. I have one that casts protectra and shellra with one key. 
• Level to 18. At level 18 you can do a hard quest to unlock the ability to have a support job allowing you access to a second job's ability set. The quest is hard for 1 person at 18. It is very easy for someone a few levels higher. Hopefully by this point you're in the linkshell. Get Tom to help you kill the mobs. 
• Level to 20. At level 20 you can do the quests which let you ride and raise chocobos. 
• Level to 30. At level 30 you can unlock the remaining 14 jobs. 
• Increase your fame with Jeuno to at least 3. This will let you increase the size of your bags. You do this by getting a lot of fame with the three starting towns. So either a lot of quests or the same repeatable quest many times over. Tom and I delivered corn to a guy in Selbina. 288 pieces of corn.
• Get your Race Specific Equipment.