Here's a look at all the things you'll want to tick off each day.
There are a number of daily tasks you can tick off in Animal Crossing New Horizons to ensure you’re not missing out on anything important. In this guide we’ll take you through our daily routine so you can build your own checklist of things to do everyday.
Whenever a new day starts in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a whole host of daily tasks open up to you. These are opportunities to build relationships with your villagers, make some cash, stock up on valuable resources, and to ensure you don’t miss out on any important events.
It’s important to establish a daily checklist of things to do everyday so you can tick them off and know you’re pushing your island adventure forwards in the most optimal way.
Below we’ll take you through our daily routine to give you an idea of what chores you’ll want to crack on with each day.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Daily Checklist
Here’s what to do every day, and it might seem like a lot, but you don’t have to get it done all in one go. Spread it out over the course of the day if you want, or only tick off as many as you can muster depending on how busy your real life schedule is!
1. Talk to your villagers
Make sure you’re checking in with your villagers each day, as it’s the key to building up strong friendships which could lead to presents, rare items, DIY recipes, and other unique goodies.
Neglect your villagers and they may not want to live on your island anymore…
It’s also just a really nice thing, you know? Having a chat with all your residents can be a lovely little boost to your day.
2. Shake trees
Make sure you shake as many trees as possible each day. It may sound like a lot (which it is), but the rewards can be bountiful! Bells, new Furniture, rare insects and even some crafting materials can fall out of trees.
Whenever you’re shaking down trees, carry a bug net with you. This way, if a wasp’s nest falls to the ground you can immediately counteract it with a quick swipe. You can then sell or add the wasp to your collection. The remaining wasp’s nest can be sold for a profit, or used as a crafting material for medicine as well.
3. Collect plenty of fruit
When you go around shaking down trees, target your native fruit trees too.
Your native fruits will sell for a tidy sum, and if you’re an owner of non-native fruits, they’ll sell for even more.
There’s also a chance you’ll find a rare and incredibly valuable Perfect Fruit. Make sure you plant these to grow a tree which’ll sprout even more perfect fruit for you to pluck.
4. Smack your rocks
Dotted around your island are a number of grey rocks. Grab a shovel, or an axe if you can’t make one, and give them a hit. They’ll spit out valuable resources including Clay, Iron Nuggets, Stones, and even Gold Nuggets if you’re lucky.
It’s worth noting that the number of resources you can collect from these rocks vary depending on the method you use, as well as the environment surrounding the rock.
Here are some pointers to help you get the most out of every rock:
- Get rid of weeds – clear the area surrounding a rock from weeds or any other debris as resources may be blocked and won’t appear.
- Dig holes – Dig a couple of holes behind yourself before you bash a rock. This way you won’t get pushed backwards when you connect with it, and in turn, you can mash [A] and harvest them faster.
At some stage in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you’ll need to get a stash of Iron Nuggets ready. To prepare you for this trying time, make sure you head on over to our How to farm Iron Nuggets page.
5. Find the glowing spot
There’s one glowing spot on the island each day. Dig this up and you’ll get a sack of 1,000 Bells. You can either choose to redeem them, or you can actually bury them back in the ground to plant a Bell tree, which takes a few days to grow but will reward you with 3x what you put in.
6. Collect your fossils
Dotted around your island are four cracks in the ground. Take a shovel to each of them and you’ll dig up a fossil which can be taken to Blathers at the museum for appraisal. Once he’s had a look at them, you can either choose to donate them or keep them for display purposes.
7. Check in with vendors
Practically every vendor rotates the goods they sell, so make sure you check in with the likes of Timmy/Tommy, Mabel, and the Nook Stop terminal to see what’s on offer. If you don’t have a glance each day, you might miss out on something great.
More essential Animal Crossing: New Horizons guides
- 1. Nook Miles – Animal Crossing New Horizons: How to get Nook Miles fast
- 2. Bells – Animal Crossing New Horizons: How to get Bells quickly
- 3. Reset Island – Animal Crossing New Horizons: How to reset your island and delete your save
- 4. Play with friends – Animal Crossing New Horizons – How to play with friends
- 5. Daily Checklist – Animal Crossing New Horizons – Daily Checklist guide
8. Use the Nook Stop terminal
Check in with the Nook Stop terminal in Resident Services to get Nook Miles bonuses. Accessing this terminal once per day will award you with bonus daily miles, from 50 on your first visit, to 300 on your seventh consecutive day.
9. Check the recycling bin
While it’s not usually a source of anything spectacular, sometimes you might get lucky with useful crafting materials or little cosmetic items.
10. Stroll along the beach
While having a lovely wander along the beach, keep your eyes open for a Message in a Bottle. These will appear once per day and will reward you with DIY recipes.
You will also come across sea shells of varying rarities which can be sold for profit, so it’s worth picking up any you find if you’ve got pocket space.
Finally, you never know when you might bump into Gulliver the seagull who has a habit of being washed ashore. Speak to him multiple times to wake him up and he’ll set you a task, often involving collecting parts to help him get in contact with a rescue crew. Successfully complete these for him and he’ll reward you with a present which’ll appear in your mailbox the next day.
11. Explore your island for visitors
Have a good wander around your island for any new visitors, ideally both in the day and night. You may make some new friends!
12. Buy some turnips
Once you’ve built Nook’s Cranny, Daisy Mae will come to visit on Sundays. Purchase some, and check in with Timmy/Tommy for the best prices to sell them from Monday to Saturday as they will fluctuate. Also, be sure to sell them within the week as they’ll rot in your pockets otherwise!
13. Collect Nook Miles
This is something you’ll naturally accomplish anyway, but make sure you give your Nook Miles+ a view as these will offer you a 2x bonus upon completion. Most importantly, they shouldn’t take too long to mop up!
14. Do some fishing
Not only is it worth combing the beach for sea shells, but fish too! The size of the silhouette hints at the sort of fish you’re likely to catch and keep in mind the location too. As you’d expect, some fish are sea dwellers, while others prefer rivers.
There are a number of particularly rare and seasonal fish which will net you thousands of Bells, as well as Blathers’ praise – which is worth more. Make sure you head on over to our growing list of special fish guide pages for in-depth info on how and where to catch them:
- How to catch a Sturgeon
- How to catch a Stringfish
- How to catch a Tuna and Blue Marlin
Expect this list to grow, so keep an eye on our Animal Crossing hub on the homepage for all the latest articles!
15. Go bug catching
Your island is filled with creepy crawlies, butterflies, and other weird and wonderful bugs. Make sure you’ve got a net equipped and roam your island for any new creatures that may have arrived.
We’ve found hitting rocks can shift a bug out of its hiding place, while shaking trees can also cause a little friend to drop down. Planting different fauna around your island will also encourage all new varieties of insect to visit, so don’t forget to pick up some flowers and get the shovel out.
Some particularly dangerous bugs can come out at night, and the most common sight are tarantulas. Approach them at speed and they’ll sprint at you with frightening speed, sink their fangs into you and knock you unconscious. Slowly approach with a stop-start method and you may just get close enough to swing the net over their heads. They’re extremely valuable and sell for high prices, so it’s worth the risk.
