Looks like you'd like some builds and crafting suggestions. I'll skip and will just answer: "how do I maximize my enjoyment with my limited gaming time."
Like but less than DAI it's a game that let you huge possibilities of organizing yourself your play, there's ton of stuff non mandatory, and there's ton of choices in what order you do stuff.
So here in my opinion some tips that could help maximize your fun to play the game, I'll let through some small spoils, I do hope I'm right that it's very minor.
1. Don't attempt pure random exploration
Some games as DAI and Skyrim can do marvels with just a pure free exploration for the sake of exploring. It's not making MEA bad that it's not the same in MEA, it's just that this approach doesn't work well. It's seems ok to try it, but at end you won't get enough good and marking rewards to do it, so avoid, and don't worry quests will lead you explore most, and you won't lost much to not do it.
2. Don't attempt kill everything you see along travels
For sure do it a bit will be fun, do it too much will break too much and too often the flow of quests and stories, it will generate too many combats, it will be like grinding. If you do it remind minimize it.
The approach to explore in deep an area and clean it from any quests, and enemies, and stuff to find, will surely kill the fun of the game, almost as well than DAI with such approach.
3. Don't bother on scanning minerals with vehicle
Do a bit of scanning with vehicle to experiment the stuff, occasionally open the vehicle scan and pick some stuff, but don't attempt optimize your mining, nor to scan every single area tagged by the game. If you really find it fun, do it, otherwise it's too much boredom that doesn't worth it.
4. Don't give to yourself the duty to constantly check if companions have more to say
Do that will be half fun, you'll have many pointless check, and the UI design on that is weak, even if a companion has nothing new to say, most often it will still trigger a sequence, and a dialog opening to offer you the choice to trigger again the dialog bases of this companions, it's long and a pointless UI design choice.
If it's important you should get warned, some other companion will tell you x want speak, a door closed when usually it is opened automatically will clue you that the companion behind will have an important talk, sometimes an email will warn you a companion wants talk so don't trash the email until you have done the talk.
For sure at many story steps many companions will have a little comment, so it worth check occasionally. But make it a duty won't work, just do it when you really want do it, or eventually at each main progression of main quests.
5. Uses the other tools than scanning to collect material for crafting
Even with single player connect the game so you can exploit APEX Strike Team Missions, that you'll play with NPC instead of Multiplayer.
Use your Andromeda Viability Point (AVP) to choose bonus providing more crafting material, you'll get rewards each time you check for new APEX missions.
When you do quests and travels, pick minerals that cross your path.
6. Try open multiple planets asap
At first you unlock a planet, don't stick to it, progress main quests mainly up to open 2 more planets, then check one of them will ensure unlock another major step, but instead check the 2 new planets and then you have the choice among 3 planets, you'll get an overview of a more diversified gameplay, and you'll have the ability to diversify yourself better the gameplay by mixing the 3 planets digging/managing.
7. Don't feel forced to do the next "urgent" quest
The writing will often quote as urgent many quests, but I have yet to see one that is really urgent. If you want check something else, don't bother on this false hurry-ness.
8. Don't hesitate use evacuation command from vehicle to ship
Planets are big and with many stuff to do, and you'll have the feeling to get glued to the planet you are. Don't bother, you can quit the planet directly from vehicle, there's a command for that. This tool makes easier to diversify yourself your gameplay, something that won't be achieved as well by sticking to a single planet.
9. Don't get stuck by the relative heaviness to switch to another area/place
That games try make concrete your travels through multiple planets/station of a galaxy, and then burden a bit travels between ship/planet/station and another ship/planet/station.
Try go over and not get stuck somewhere just because of some seconds. If a place is fun, proceed, but be aware when it starts be not much fun anymore, then bother on doing something else. Also if you are curious to check something else, do it anyway.
Use the quick travels abilities and quote you don't need be in vehicle to do so, use the command to evacuate from vehicle, use tab to skip travel animations that can be skipped, on planets without vehicle, you can quick travel and then at location you can evacuate directly. Play it real and even with fast vehicle, and the fun it could be to rush through, will end be quickly not that fun. And on walking planets it will avoid repeat too much some combats with respawn.
9. Experiment the weapons and mods
There's a huge weapons diversity and you can hardly guess before to have really try a weapon. So remind experiment a lot the weapons and try mods.
9. Crafting is interesting for once
The crafting is just better than all major RPG of last years, from Skyrim to the Witcher 3 and DAI. It is rewarding to dig it, but you'll have to make choices, because grind to get a lot more income/crafting material will hardly be fun. So choose with care what you'll try craft, and don't target a too high quality at first that will cost more material to craft it, try low level plans to experiment first.
10. Character building and party building
Character building offers a ton of choices, I'm quite sure many will work well enough. So don't feel too much constrained by possibility of screwing up a build.
