My typical starting routine is Inner Quiet -> Waste Not (LW 15 Skill) -> Steady Hands before starting on the synth and touch steps. New items and items of higher level than my crafting level i tend to Synth till i get 1 step away from completeing, and then Touch until i hit 5 durability and then Synth the final step.

I've found that in using Waste Not, whilst i end up with 1 less synth/touch step available to me compared to Mend, at lower levels, even with full HQ crafting gear on i don't generally have the CP to make full use of Mend's 30 durability boost, and the 32 less CP used lets me use touch at least once more.

Careful Synth is good, i tend to use it as the final step in any job so that i don't end up with a HQ item failing on me on the last step. I also tend to Synth on new items so i can find out how much durability i need to spend to actually create the item.

Try and get or make some HQ versions of the crafter clothing/tools as well.