Tutorial hell is real: dozens of completed videos, zero things you’ve actually shipped. The fix isn’t more tutorials — it’s one small project, scoped tight, with a README at the end.
What “good first project” means
- Small enough to finish in 1–2 weeks.
- Mildly useful to you personally — otherwise motivation tanks.
- One sentence to describe. If you can’t, scope is too big.
- Has a README with “what it does”, “how to run”, “what I learned”.
Common scoping mistakes
Healthy scope
- Solves one specific problem
- Uses 2–3 technologies max
- Has a definition of done
Trap
- "Like Twitter, but better"
- New framework + new language + new domain at once
- No definition of done
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