Well done on getting started, Josh. As you gain some experience you will get a feeling on the correct angles and pressures. Take your time. It's not a race.

As far as your strop goes, there are many methods. You don't say what kind of strop you have. A simple arrangement would be to tie some line to the end of your strop and loop it around the door knob. But you should be using your strop each time before you shave...