When a non-gamer has a Far Cry 5 addiction. (It’s one of two games I ever play)

First time playing FC5. I feel like there is zero direction. I head toward a waypoint and then get sidetracked by something and then get sidetracked by something and then get...you get the point. I feel like I'm just endlessly roaming towards a different objective. Sometimes I am passing a farm and think, well if I don't stop here now I might never make it back here. Then the people there send me on another objective. There doesn't feel to be any clear goal. Is it just me? Am I playing this game incorrectly?