Starting any venture signifies a long journey ahead that you must overcome on your path to success. In Schedule 1, you begin with a motel room and a few plants under lamps. But with enough dedication and the right strategy, this small operation can transform into a developed drug empire with large warehouses and profits.

Leveling up will be the key to all new growth opportunities in the game: new buildings, better tools, and more profitable products. If you want to level up faster, you need to know how to quickly gain experience (EXP) in Schedule 1.

How to Quickly Gain EXP

The most effective and obvious way to earn EXP is to sell your product personally as often as possible. Although your dealers can make deals on your behalf, they bring in very little experience compared to what you gain by making sales yourself.

This is especially true for unplanned deals when you approach NPCs and offer your product directly. To do this, interact with an available client and select the "Offer a Deal" option. You choose the product and set the price.

Such deals are extremely beneficial for leveling up. Even small sales — just 1–2 units of inexpensive product — provide a good EXP boost, as the fact of the deal is more important than its volume. Even if you're selling a basic mix, it's still worth it. By selling consistently, you can earn up to 500 EXP daily even at the early stages of the game.

When you gain access to producing more expensive products, like meth, the rewards for sales will also increase accordingly. Even basic mixes can bring in 900-1200 EXP per day if sold personally and effectively. To maximize efficiency, start selling in the morning — before NPCs turn to your dealers.

Optimizing the Daily Cycle

Effective leveling can be achieved by balancing production and sales. During the day, focus on producing as much product as your supplies and time allow.

Use the night, especially after curfew, for manual sales. Night trades offer a 20% profit bonus, and while EXP doesn't increase from this, the extra money can be reinvested in equipment, product improvements, and ultimately more EXP.

Save the game only during sleep at night. There's a bug in the game where EXP might not save if you save during the day. Sleep not only saves progress but also updates your level, showing how close you are to new tools or locations.

Alternative Ways to Earn EXP

Aside from direct sales, there are a few additional sources of experience you can utilize during your workday:

• Escaping from the police with "Wanted Dead or Alive" status — ~40 EXP.
• Killing police officers during a chase — ~20 EXP each.
• Harvesting and trimming plants — ~10 EXP each.
• Robbing NPCs (sneaking up from behind) — ~5 EXP per successful attempt.

These methods don't provide as much experience as sales but nicely complement the main EXP stream, especially if you want to change or supplement your routine a bit.

Managing Dealers and Resources

Your dealers can also be beneficial, especially when expanding your empire. Of course, they earn less than you, about 10 EXP per sale. However, when the empire expands, and you can no longer handle everything yourself, the help of employees will come in handy.

To make this method more effective, give them jars instead of bags — one jar holds up to 5 units of product, allowing dealers to sell more before running out of stock. Another tip is to limit or take clients away from dealers if you want to maximize your personal EXP. This ensures that you make the most valuable deals of the day.

Focus on Productive Manufacturing

To maintain high sales volumes, you need to ramp up production. At the start, aim to produce at least 20 units of product per day. Once you gain access to better soil, fertilizers, and growth accelerators from Dan's store, use them to speed up cycles.

Various tools, such as water sprayers or automatic sprinklers, will greatly simplify the process. But keep an eye on product quality — some fertilizers may reduce it. Over time, you'll be able to hire specialists: botanists, chemists, cleaners, etc.

They will automate the production process and increase its efficiency. This will allow you to focus more on sales and business development — where the biggest profits and EXP are.

Exploring the Map and Completing Quests

Traveling the map doesn't directly give much EXP, but it opens up new opportunities: new clients, quests, access to upgrades, and more. Many side quests include EXP bonuses and help you understand mechanics that aren't always explained in the game. Use them early in the game to quickly get to grips with the basics.

In the later stages of the game, levels rise much more slowly — EXP is needed in large quantities. The only way to break through is mass production: produce more, sell more, and use every opportunity.

The optimal approach is daytime preparation and nighttime activity. Plan client routes, keep dealers busy, use all tools — and don't waste a single game hour.