I've only added a few simple challenges to some of my farms, but they did change things up enough to be fun.
Local Economy Challenge: All items that can be sold to a local shop or the Adventurer's Guild must be sold there. Shipping bin is only used when an NPC requests something to be shipped or if you find something that no one will buy.
No-Meta Relationships Challenge: No checking the heart tab at all. Only speak to NPCs if you have business with them, they're standing/crossing within a few 'tiles' of the farmer, or in-game dialogue (including mail) suggests the farmer has befriended them. Only give gifts if it's the NPC's birthday, they're your farmer's Winter Star secret friend, or in-game dialogue suggests the farmer has befriended them. Use Pierre's & Lewis' letters regarding dating/marriage as guides to advance romance.
Farm First Challenge: All farm chores must be completed before leaving the farm each day. All coops/barns must be closed every night and opened every morning (weather permitting). Farm buildings/tools take priority over decor/gifting/outfits/etc.
Community First Challenge: NPC requests, repairing the community center, and the community upgrades at Robin's (also fixing Willy's boat and rebuilding the island resort) take priority over everything else. Doesn't matter if conditions are perfect for a Skull Caverns run, if Demetrius requested a Pufferfish or Haley wants an emerald, that's what you're farmer is doing today.
I have done the first two, and they're pretty rewarding. As for farm-first. I
kinda do that, except there are a few chores that i schedule to be put off for a few days, like gathering the coops and harvesting the orchards. Unlike barn animals, coop animals will continue producing if you don't gather them. So for chickens, i think you can get away with it once every 3 days and be comfortable (maybe?). Ducks is about once a week, and for rabbits i think i can stretch it once every 2 weeks or so? I forget, because i enjoy visiting my bunnies often. Although, once i think i didn't go for about a month and they were fine. Don't quote me on that.
MY POINT IS. Is that if you schedule out certain chores to be handled periodically, it makes the game less stressful and more enjoyable. I will put off my crab pots in Riverlands every now and then, and if I'm doing a normal farm where I have pots all the heck over the place, i just harvest them whenever I'm in the area. No stress.
Local Economy is fun though, and shakes up villager's dialogue every now and then. I just wish there was an actual economic mechanic so that you can't just flood the market with a certain crop. I'm talking about supply and demand, but maybe that's a modder's pipe dream.
And I really like the Community First idea. I might use that one for future runs of mine, bc community first.
Something i've done in the past is a "Mastery First" challenge, where I locked myself on the farm, and didn't allow myself to go into any of the respective areas until I had mastered a skill.
So, for example, I had to get 10 in mining before I let myself go into the Quarry, and a 10 in fighting before I could go into the mines. 10 in foraging before I could go into the forest for anything other than Marnie's and the Cart Lady, and a 10 in fishing before I could use a fishing rod (it was the worst, since I couldn't get crab pots from the mines. I eventually got enough seaweed from the tidepools to make a fish pond, but that took
forever. I think i eventually got something from the Cart Lady to finish off crab pots).
It could have used some tweaks, but it was just me doing it for fun, and it worked out well enough. I never finished that run, but i would do it again.
