I had a tough time surviving the first few days, until I figured out what a meat-generating combination archery and fishing nets can be. Traps take too long to set up in the beginning, and manually fishing with a rod I was barely able to stave off constant starvation, let alone have the time or energy to accomplish other things.
Not that I'm complaining, mind you; I think this game simulates rough survival pretty well. And you would find living difficult if all you did was spend 20 hours a day trying to catch a single fish, or chase hares around with a handax. Initially I felt like my choices were limited due to imbalance, but that's just an effect of the gameplay sticking true-ish to life. Life isn't balanced, and when all you've got are a few tools at your disposal, there's only going to be a few sure ways to survive from that starting point.
Btw, I have a question: I've had a few instances where the villagers didn't like me chopping trees or building/deconstructing things in their territory (even if the thing I was deconstructed was built by me to begin with); will they eventually get super-pissed at me if I keep doing it? If so, is there any cooldown? Can I piss them off occasionally, and still be in their good books?