One of the things I like about doing zone completion is that you can kind of adjust the difficulty as needed, rather than just following the story line. It's kinda nice to do events in lower level zones so that you can confidently solo veterans or even champions, when there aren't a lot of other people around.
I've been kinda finding a groove where the content is challenging but I'm not dying a lot, and also letting crafting materials guide me on where to go next.
Makes for more variety, too. Sick of the Sons of Svanir? Choose a Charr area for a while and fight Blood Legion and "seperatists". Tired of those? Hit the swamps for Nightmare Court and Inquest foes.