I have some expirience with Linux, but not so much as I want. I want to install Linux on a old laptop, so is there a way to quickly restore a system to some previous point in case of issues?
If you use GRUB as your bootloader, you can boot into a stored snapshot if something gets borked. You can also recover deleted files from previous snapshots.
The only way to not go insane is to keep notes about what you like to change, why, and how. That way you can get up and running with a fresh system quickly. No need for snapshots and the like.
Some people say that I like to do things the hard way, however.