I've noticed that open-ended games became a lot more fun for me when I specifically declined to optimize. I could plant more and make more money, but I wanna chill out in the bar. I could play a hexblade/wizard multiclass and cast nuclear magic missiles, but I wanna play a gnome going to divination school.
I don't get the game tbh. At first it was cozy then it turned into work. Which I know people like, some at least. But I work enough in the day to not want to work when I play.
Don't work! You don't need ten acres of crops, you can level up your farming with a 3x5 plot of parsnips, blueberries, and cranberries. Personally, I yearn for the mines, so I get my farming up to the point where I can use sprinklers and only worry about it on the first day of the month. I occasionally just walk around foraging. It's a waste of a day, but tomorrow will come without regard for what you do today.
I cannot play without a time manipulation mod anymore. I know balancing your days is meant to be a part of the game, but I frequently enjoy taking things a fair bit slower.
Looks like the popular and updated one is TimeSpeed and according to their FAQ
Time is controlled by the host player. So if the host player has TimeSpeed installed, their current time speed will apply for all connected players. The mod doesn't need to be installed by farmhands (and it won't do anything if they have it installed).
Just get a rabbit, eventually it will drop rabbits feet for you. Yes, plural, I got 2 recently within a few days from each other from my one rabbit I keep.