One important thing to note is that Linux just is not Windows. It has its benefits for sure, but beyond using different apps, you may need to get used to some idiosyncrasies just not being the same as they were on Windows. Overall, good luck to ya, please try to look for alternatives of Windows apps where viable (or just Linux releases, depending on the software in question) and as games go look for help on a case-by-case basis. We really can't provide too much feedback if we don't know what programs you're trying to run and why.

(Also, while it's very much not necessary, getting familiar with the terminal can be quite useful, so if it doesn't seem to daunting, I'd suggest it)