Have you ever accidentally left a game running/on 'play mode'....overnight....? Well I did ;-( Let's just say it totally ruined my schedule flow that my Sim was in during her Student levels. Like I left her with a clean apartment and came back to mountains of dishes, cups that others made (Father Winter even had a cup and I left her in Spring!!!), laundry piled high and let's not talk about the toilet. After making her clean up whatever rager she had going, it took me (Sim) days (DAYS!!!!) to get her back to normal (having a noisy neighbor did not help!).
On the plus side, she had already leveled up in her Residency. Yeah, you read right! The first level of your Sim's Residency should allow you to level up pretty easily. It is just trying to manage/balance work and life at this stage since you don't have a lot of hours outside of work to complete your Daily Task, increase your skill levels and meet your Sim's basic needs. Did I mention my Sim was the only member of her household? Maybe I should make a Giveaway Challenge that entails managing a household (a spouse or no spouse, children and pets) while completing the Residency career. If you like this idea, give this post a like (let's aim for at least 100 likes) and we will see about getting something like that in motion before one of our mod updates/releases.
Now back to my story of how I got my Sim back on track...her neighbors increased the amount of times in which they were being loud and I just had it with them (LOL). She wasn't getting enough sleep, even with Power Naps, and her performance just wasn't going anywhere. So I decided to move her out of her City Apartment and into a quiet Desert Abode. Once there, things began to flow better. So well, that I didn't realize she had made it almost to the end of the line. She just has one more level to go before she can call herself a full-fledged Doctor and bring in the big bucks.
So after all of that, here are some tips for you to get through the last part of your Residency:
During the work week, try to make the Daily Task a priority after Needs. Don't try to fit in Skill Building Sessions when your Sim really needs some sleep. If you find time, that's great! Just don't push it. Leave those Sessions for Sundays and Holidays.
If your Sim is living in the City, I would suggest you move them out. Those apartments usually have certain Lot Traits or situations that could mess with your flow (Creepy Crawlies, Loud Neighbors, etc). However, if you want to make it a tad bit harder you can always stay ;-) (Or just remove those traits)
If your Sim has family or dependents, I would also suggest you find help in the form of services to keep your house clean and your kids attended to. Especially if you do not have another Sim in the household old enough to complete what is needed to keep the household maintained.
As mentioned before, meal planning is a major ally during the work week. When your Sim has a well-balanced meal, they can last a lot longer while at work.
Don't be afraid to send your Sim out one night to have a bit of fun. These levels are meant to be stressful, like in real-life.
Dealing with people and the chance of death at moments throughout the day or week can get to people, especially in this field. One little mistake could actually become big in the grand scheme of things, which in turn can cause a severe illness, impairment or death, so we wanted you to experience that stress in a way. I hope to expand upon this as well with future mod updates since not everything in life is a bed a roses. It is what you do when all you have is a pile of manure that really defines your character. What is life if you didn't have to strive toward something? Strive to make or be something better? We are going to experience this by putting real life scenarios into the game. Private Practice and SNB are just the start of something greater.
Thanks to all for sticking with us and helping us make this happen.
Much Love,
Nichole