When going on a Google Scholar binge, it’s really easy for me to click the link to the citing articles of the paper I’m reading, then want to see the citing papers of those articles, and so on.

What initially looked like a small field of knowledge that would take an afternoon to get caught up on is revealed to be an unfathomable ocean that requires a lifetime of study to make any dent in. I very quickly become overwhelmed, and anxiety/panic starts to set in.

Is there any way to cope with this feeling when doing research? I suspect a lot of it is due to my ADD and desire to Learn Everything.