Honestly? It looks like you're on the right path, based on what I see.
I'd keep focusing on the CC and progress through, since that'll open up even more stuff, which is more possibilities.
Other than that, on a general note, I'd suggest if at some point you want to tidy up and have all machines in one place, to build a Shed.
On the decoration stuff, my SO likes to follow other people's designs, and they have really beautiful farms.
For money, most stuff will take some effort to get a lot of money, though for what I see, other comments already mention that. You can improve all processes to make the most money, mining = desert, crops = greenhouse, fishing = fish smoker + fish knowledge, animals = more expensive animals.
Once you complete most of the game (getting perfection is hard), I'd also suggest you getting mods. They'll bring the parts of the game you like the most to a new level, as they are made with love from the community. You can get mod bundles or select them manually, but you'll find ease of life features and extended content. I always recommend automate for a 2nd playthrough.
I did not provide more details because of trying to hold off on spoilers
Exactly my thoughts.
I checked the spectral Cycles branch devtalk thread and it seems to be pretty much dead, and this patch looks like the final nail in the coffin.
I hope the work and effort of the community contributed in any way to this, I believe the branch ended in a point where there were too many issues too hard to deal with.
Some more good news is that according to someone who knows more than me presumably (u/Eary in the devtalk forum), I quote:
Though they also mention that this implementation has its drawbacks in some specific edge cases and assumptions taken (hardcoded stuff), which would need multiple presets to handle all of them.