Overwhelmed

[vocal abyss]

Hi guys! I have adhd and I am absolutely loving this game. It looks so beautiful and there is so much fun things to do. Which is what I need help with. After only playing for like 6-7 hours, I feel so overwhelmed with the amount of things to do that I just sit there thinking about what to do. Like what should my goal be, what is like a general thing to keep track on? I have unlocked diving and done a bit of that, same with the cave system. I quit stardew valley after just a few hours because it got too overwhelming and I didnt like the season system. I still dont like it in this game cus it stresses me but everything else is so well made so I really wanna keep playing.

[unique gyro]

Do you like lists?

[nimble geyser]

I feel the same way iv just been following the quests and when I run out of energy I run around giving people forgeable as gifts I did also get a app called coral island guide to help me keep track of which offerings I have gave

[jolly monolith]

I had the same problem, the way I managed it was to make a decision (before the next day started) on what I was going to focus on for that next day (preferably before the day end so that you can gather all tools and food you need to go on your expedition for the next day before you go to sleep). This helped me a lot not to feel overwhelmed. The decisions depended a lot on what I need, for instance ore to build something, or trash to build something else or if I need a specific offering and so forth. I also noted that some fish and bugs can only be catched on very specific days, So then I plan ahead for those too. I hope this technique helps you.

[vocal abyss]

Yes

[unique gyro]

We have some Google docs floating around if you think that would help

[vocal abyss]

I would love to check them out

[unique gyro]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1h4qLwfi-QP9CYRLJqjR-r_wV3FHYaRig7WacEQDGENs/edit?usp=drive_link

This is work in progress but mostly done for 1.1

[vocal abyss]

Thank you!!!

[unique gyro]

I would say each day- pick 1 task. So fish one day
Mine the next

It helps

[mental skiff]

Also, remember that there is nothing saying you have to speed through the game. You can take years and years in game to finish things, just focus on doing what you think you’ll enjoy the most! I highly recommend just picking one or two things to accomplish that day, and going from there. You will never lose hearts for ignoring npcs, nor is there anything that will never return at some point later.

[rocky crow]

As someone else with ADHD, can 1000% agree with the suggestion of 50% time if you haven't already. Helps me when I'm forgetful or indecisive not to feel like I wasted half a day like I do with Stardew
Some options that I've both done & seen for small goals to set as a priority before turning to other stuff (like, making one of these a focus above anything else you do so that you don't have to worry about juggling All The Things)

• Tool upgrade focus. This generally leads to a focus on the mines so if you don't enjoy that part of the game you might want to avoid focusing on this like I did, but if you enjoy it/don't mind it, the ores are helpful in a number of ways, and the upgraded tools have made it WAY easier for me when I decided to go for something else
• Ocean clearing focus. Some people, and I've done this on a save, focus on cleaning the ocean before just about anything else. Seeing the progress of the ocean come back to life can feel rewarding, not to mention all you can uncover there in terms of story and some neat stuff for selling too!
• The third focus option that I've seen is basically social butterfly. Making sure to spend each day possible tracking down folks to talk to. A friend of mine wanted to very specifically play chill, so he put his focus on befriending people, mostly by talking & maybe gifting some stuff he found. He unlocked recipes faster than myself or my mom, even though he doesn't have the kitchen to do anything with them yet lol, but he's been really enjoying learning about the characters as a focus

I should specify - I used this by picking them as a focus before doing anything else over multiple days/seasons. If the "pick something to focus on each day part still seems to overwhelm you with choice, picking 1 goal to see through to its end might help with that. Like getting tools to osmium or cleaning the ocean - and let the other stuff come or go as you feel you have bandwidth to interact with it.
My first save I barely did any farming at all until Fall when the game managed to hit my Competitive Spirit Override button to focus on that lol. And I didn't touch Ranching at all until the 2nd year. It was too much to try to juggle, for me.
Idk if it'll help you to latch onto one of these things to the exclusion of all else for a while like I did, but figured I'd throw it out there as an option

[vocal abyss]

wow this helped a lot!! thanks a lot, gonna hop on now and focus on the farm/ore thing so i can upgrade my tools.

And do a bit of ocean ❤️

[vocal abyss]

thank you!!!

[vocal abyss]

Sorry to bother ya, but the first page confused me a bit. What alter is it talking about? I really want a recycling machine but I have no clue where to offer stuff

[unique gyro]

Those altars are the goddess altars.
Unlocked after you see

• pufferfish the first time
• then talk to Connor about town rank
• then get a strange dream and are told to touch the magic tree

Also you're not a bother. I am here to help 🙂

The goddess altars are at the lake

[vocal abyss]

Is this coralated to the uhh totem guy i met which did a ritual on me with the elements

[rocky crow]

The Chieftain?

[unique gyro]

Yes 🙂

[vocal abyss]

yeah forgot his name 😭

Where do i offer the essential resources? I already have lots of those.

[unique gyro]

It's at the lake

[vocal abyss]

oh ok, ill hop on and try to find it, thank you so much!!

[unique gyro]

Of course. Northern side of the lake. If you struggle ping me

[vocal abyss]

got it!

[dull aspen]

What has also helped me a lot is setting the game time down to 50% so it felt like I could accomplish the things I set out to do