Persain gave good advice. If chaining ain't working for you then find a strategy that does. Every war is different and allows for all kinds of tactics depending on your goal. Intel is key for planning. If you for example follow advice by Persain and go for max gain strat then consider changing builds to better utilize this strat.
If you're in ghetto land take advantage of people that seem to rarely login (http://umunk.net/ - is a great tool to keep track of KD activity). Steal their rescources and set them up to starve; burn farms + drought/glutton/blizzard. Also focus to build around your active provs.
Build a council from players you can trust that are willing to help out. There is no doing everything by yourself.