How do I make the switch as smoothly as possible? I am a gamer but most of my games have native Linux support so that's not an issue. I spent weeks trying out different distros and came to the conclusion that Linux Mint is best for me. Anything else I should do?
Best way to learn Linux is to install Linux and start using it OOTB to become familiar with Linux.
You may be a bit confused at first although that passes quickly as you use it.
First learn how the Linux distro of your choice works and where things are and become comfortable with it before adding software or changing everything.
The first important step after installing Linux is to update it.
Then restart the computer.
Now turn on the ufw firewall which can be done by opening the terminal and copy and paste this command to avoid mistakes.
sudo ufw enable