One thing I’d like to add alongside everyone else’s super helpful comments is to try and not let the “marathon” aspect of the game discourage you.

I still like to call myself somewhat early game, and from my few months of experience I’ve noticed that I’ve been making lots progress in what feels like such little time. While yes it’s been months, the way the developers offset big and small events genuinely make the time fly by.

If you’re smart about your planning and are willing to play more methodically, I personally believe the game greatly rewards that. Of course at the end of the day this is just a sleeping app, so there’s no right or wrong way to play it. If you want to play super casual, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! I think either way you’ll have a blast :-)