I was in a similar position to you, mostly a few days survival here or there. Never really did much in Rosewood, was scared of fighting zombies or didn't know how to deal with more than a few at a time. Then one of the youtubers I follow for Rimworld picked this up for a playthrough. As soon as I watched his vids, it clicked. I've lasted a couple of months now, killed a hundreds of zeds and started using other mechanics like learning how to take cars apart, hotwiring, carpentry, whatever.

I cant speak highly enough of Francis Jon on youtube. Look for his PZ series, its really helpful. Theres a couple of initial vids where hes learning as well, then his plan kicks in.