When you first create your province, you are given 72 hours where your province can not be touched by others. There a few basic things that should be done in this time.
Build
IF you navigate to the Growth screen, then it will become apparent that much of your land is not built. With the land you have, it is important to build
" additional Farms
" Banks & Mines (for income)
" Guilds & Towers (especially if you are planning to be a spell caster)
" Hospitals, built on 10% of your land is a MUST (increased birthrate)
" and possible some Libraries
You can also raze your homes if you wish.
(For more information, read chapter II)
Explore
Now that you have built your buildings, you will be out of land. So it is a good idea to explore some more. Under the explore menu, it is reccommended that you explore all of the possible acres that you can. As exploring when you can't be attacked is a prime advantage.(see chapter I)
Military
Navigate to your Military page. As you have sent out all of your soldiers to explore, you won't have any remaining to train. To get more soldiers, you have to set your draft rate higher. A usual benchmark is 65%, although this is up to your discretion. As your soldiers are drafted, it is a good idea to train them into Defensive specialists, Thieves, and Offensive elites if you are an attacker. Do not train elites, as they are too expensive at that stage of the game. Thieves can be very useful at the start of the round, as they can steal money, which is very scarce that early. To be effective at stealing, you will need at least 1 thief per acre (1TPA).(see chapter I & II)
Science
As your province progresses, it may be a good idea to invest in some sciences. The most important sciences to study early is Housing and Alchemy. You can study these by spending money, but libraries may be a more efficient route. (see chapter II)
Communication
It is a good idea to get to know everyone in your kingdom. For this reason, you should introduce yourself in the Forums, and follow the happenings in your Kingdom (see chapter IV)