I think this is definitely part of the process. Being initially somewhat "blinded" by all that material on the board in the middlegame and yet not allowing yourself to be overwhelmed is indeed progress. In such situations, calculate, calculate, calculate. The more you work through it the more comfortable it'll be.
Personally, the very best position for me to win is right before the first move. After that it's usually all downhill. ;-)
Thank you all for that really helpful. I don't actually play against the computer on here as it's not visually right for me or possibly because I've gotten so used to the layout in Chess - Clash of Chess I think it's called. I play it on my android tablet.
When you play against people on that game you are on a timer for each move so you don't get a lot of time to study the board properly.
Playing against the computer, I'm on level 6 at the moment trying to beat level 7. Think it goes up to level 10, but been stuck at 6 for a while now. Seems like a big jump.
Good thing about playing on the computer version is it's not timed and less pressure because you don't have the embarrassment side of it when you make an arse of yourself 😄.
Bad thing is it's not as exciting, rewarding and you get more out of playing against real people.
Will have to give Chess.com a go at some point. I do the lessons on here though which I think are really very good.
I have an exceptionally low opinion of bullet and blitz. I believe they reinforce bad habits but each to his (or her) own.
I'd recommend jumping in and playing some daily games with time controls that give you plenty of leeway in making your move. I think 1 day is too constraining and prefer 3 days (or longer).
Will do. Didn't realise you could play daily games. I don't really know my way around the site very well.
Will do. Didn't realise you could play daily games. I don't really know my way around the site very well.
Oh, there's a huge amount of value here, from the lessons to the videos to the openings, they're continually improving the site. Sometimes the user interface is a little cumbersome but from what I've seen it's far, far beyond other sites. Hahaha, though, I still have to bumble my way through some of the New Game interface. 
I still class myself as a beginner although I've been playing on and off for years but this game takes a lot of time to even get mediocre!
I play a lot against players online and always find that if the board is too full of pieces it's overwhelming and difficult for me to keep track of everything and in this situation I would probably lose.
On the other hand if there are fewer pieces I am much more likely to win as I've done quite a few lessons and read some books on end games and the more I practice the more I am able to quickly see which pieces to move to win the game.
Is this a beginner's difficulty and will I get better over time of being able to cope in mid game?
What do you find is the best position for you to win at chess? Beginning, middle or end?