Hard to be a God!
In the title I'm not referencing the Russian game of the same name, nope I was just making a remark as to the kind of game Populous is, a game that puts so much decisions in your hands that you're bound to be overexposed at times. In Populous, you will definitely never run out of things to do. You can build, model the ground, you can interact with the people, you can scare them into submissions or be a good leader, you can throw in the occasional hurricane or the occasional volcano, you know stuff that Gods love being involved with! But, as the things go, Populous was at the beginning, never really mastering the job of pacing. I don't know, maybe it's me, used to modern titles that sort of limit your exposure to but a few elements at a time and thus, make the game (even strategies) less strenuous on making a decision, but surely, at first you'll feel overwhelmed at the beginning. So take it slow, set some goals for yourself; don't try to do everything at the same time! You know, a bit here and a bit there, fiddle with the land manipulation tools then go for the disasters, hehe! That way you'll learn to love this very innovative game, and set yourself for the more advanced second title, which adds something to just about everything that this original invented.