Use the Production Limit (hotkey P) button to set how many of each item should be harvested/crafted. It's the closest thing this game has to automation and it's one of the most useful features. A nice trick is to simply enable the Recursive production in the building and let the stock limits dictate when an item is needed.

When you build a new crafting building, make sure to activate recipes. Your settlers and work animals will carry the resources by themselves.

A general rule is that more advanced tech is simply better, with few downsides. There are several instances where crafting speed can be improved with new technology. For example, Millstones are faster than Mealing stones at making flour.

Tools have durability, so they need to be changed once they break down. You need to produce tools even after everyone is tooled up. Use the Production Limit feature to make sure that you have a few tools in stock. What, settler, your tool broke down? No prob, get another and get back to work!

Once you reach 30+ settlers, but also earlier, it's a good idea to tweak the Priority (hotkey P) of most tasks. Note the settlers and domesticated animals are separated.

Wind farms are better than Treadmills, as far as I'm concerned, because Treadmills require a settler or animal to always be present. Wind blows most of the time and it's enough to power one Mechanical crusher. The Noria consumes 15 energy, so build 2 Windmills next to it. Make sure the area of influence of the Windmill covers the building it's supposed to power.

When you have Agriculture unlocked, create farms with the foods you focus on as soon as possible. This will ensure that you have faster access to the materials needed for cooking. The ones on the map don't respawn and will be farther and farther away from your camp.

Adding to the previous point, create forests nearby. Sure, there are plenty of trees on the map, but they too get farther from your base as time progresses. Also, Agriculture ensures automation, from harvesting when the plant is mature, to replanting. You can cancel the harvesting by click-dragging over your forests with Cancel (hotkey C).

Winter is the season to be jolly, but not in this game. Winter sucks because nothing grows, so you have to rely on hunting, fishing and stored ingredients for food. I mention ingredients because they don't spoil, unlike prepared food. Plan ahead, especially when you have a larger settlement. Those guys eat like locusts.

When you have your end-game industry up and running, you will need large forests to power the building of the Time Machine. Irrigation ditches and Agriculture are vital here.

Build a mine on a deposit as soon as you start using the minable resource. This also means that you have attained the tech level tu use the resource. The mine will spawn new, minable deposits above ground. Magic! Just pray it's not intimidatingly far away from your camp. You can't move that mountain closer.

The mining process can't be automated. You will always have to click on the resource and add it to the queue, so check your stock regularly or your industry will come to a halt.

Try to cook your food in a Hearth as soon as possible. Food poisoning is more common than it seems and the settlers' production suffers.

Use Fish traps. They are slow, but your settlers will be free for other tasks. Just spam some traps in on the shore and you shouldn't have fish troubles. Scurvy, guaranteed!

Clay ovens are faster than Hearths, so it's better to switch to them in the long run.

Use the Food storage hut when you can. It doubles the shelf life of all perishable foods. You'll thank yourself during the winter.

If you're running desperately low on food, slaughter your animals. Yes, even the trusty dogs. Sorry, Lassie. The hod dogs are comin', ma!

Separating seeds is better on the animal-operated Threshing floor, rather than in the settler-operated Thresher. It frees up your settlers and processed more seeds at a time. Also it's an animal. They have no souls.

Remember that food spoils! It's all fine and good to have 100+ fish in your stock for the winter, only to have them spoil and have your settlers starve. This mechanism is used on all foods and on other items like Raw skins which you can dry and they last forever.

After you research Agriculture, planting the 6 types of plants doesn't require seeds. Now that's a green thumb!

Irrigation is vital. Each irrigation ditch must be connected to a body of water and it has a maximum limit of something like 30-35 squares. You will notice that the water eventually doesn't go any further.

Irrigation ditches automatically irrigate up to 2 squares away from them, so plan your plants accordingly. 'Plan your plants'?!? I read books!

The Well + Noria + Ditches combo works wonders if you are far from water. The range is similar to the Ditch from a body of water, but note the Noria needs kinetic energy (Windmill or Treadmill) and you can then connect ditches to its output.

You can domesticate most of the animals (not Mammoths) spawned regularly on the map. Just select them, and choose Domesticate. The settler will use Meat for Wolves to make Dogs and Hay for every other animal. Mammoths can't be domesticated, probably because the game engine can't handle all that manure.

Horses and cattle can help you with seeding, harvesting and hauling goods. Just make sure to have plows, carts and reapers available.

The domesticated animals seem to multiply like crazy if you're not paying attention. They need to be male and female in the same pen. I know, that doesn't sound very progressive. To keep their numbers under control, slaughter them before they eat you out of house and home. More hamburgers for me!

Their diet is made up of Hay that you can separate from Sheaf of barley and Bunch of peas in the Thresher.