I combine the two, burn off labor crafting whatever i have mats for, with a focus on metalwork and leatherwork and quest when im out of labor.I hit 40 the other day and I have completely given up on questing. It has slowed down entirely too much and I made the mistake of mining for an hour straight with a vocation potion and I never want to quest again now. Sooo much more efficient to mine than questing. Fuck questing in this game past like 30+.
edit: i find making belts works good since you can break it down to get your archeum back and you still get the same exp as far as i can tell.