Animal Crossing: New Horizons can feel like a waiting game, and you have to be patient. Sometimes you have to work on a project or focus on something else because you have to wait until the next day, in real life, for an event to happen or for new resources to appear. However, for those who can't wait, you can change the game settings and move forward in time by time traveling.
To time travel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you must fully close the game and shut it down. Make sure it is not enabled at all. Once turned off, you can freely change the settings of your Nintendo Switch.
Go to your system settings in the main menu and scroll down to the system option. You will find the date and time options here. Go to them and you change the date on your Nintendo Switch. Confirm the change and any additional time settings you have, then return to the main screen. After that, you want to return to your Animal Crossing: New Horizons game and time will have moved on. All the big projects you've been waiting for will be completed and your island's resources should return for you to collect, such as iron or gold nuggets or stones.
Time travel mess things up on your island when things progress naturally. You only want time travel if you have no other options available to you, so be sure to keep that in mind when making this choice.
