In a video interview with PlayStation Access, Hello Games Founder Sean Murray was asked about the five things he’d recommend people do in No Man’s Sky if they plan on being an explorer.
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
As he reveals, you’ll need to repair your ship, learn to survive, upload your discoveries on the first planet, visit other nearby planets, and then travel further and further away from your unique starting planet:

Repair Your Ship
You start out with a crashed ship, so your first job is to repair it by gathering resources, building and repairing technology, binding different elements, and creating the resources you need to put into your ship.
Make Sure You Can Survive
A lot of the planets are hostile, so you’ll want to gather resources for your suit to power it up. If you happen to start on a hazardous planet (it’s the luck of the draw), “your life’s going to be that little bit harder.” Upload
Murray says something people forget to do is upload the discovery of that first planet because they’re so focused on trying to fix their ship and explore the universe. “You can go and just explore that first planet,” he adds. “There’s no rush. You’ll have plenty of time to see space.”
Mentioning multiple times that you should name your planet something sensible because other people will find your planet, Murray adds that there’s a “harsh profanity filter.”
Visit the Other Plane...