There’s this quiet, slightly annoying feeling every developer knows—the moment you step away from that tutorial, course, or YouTube series that’s been holding your hand… and suddenly, you feel stuck.
Like, really stuck.
You were flowing just fine while following along, building endpoints, wiring things together, maybe even feeling like a backend wizard. But the second you close that tab? Boom. Confusion.
Here’s the truth most tutorials won’t tell you:
The solution is NOT to go back to the tutorial.
Yeah, I said it.
The real move is to step away from your editor.
Not to code. Not to debug.
But to plan.
Why You Feel Stuck (And It’s Not What You Think)
You’re not stuck because you don’t understand the language.
You’re not stuck because the framework is “too hard.”
You’re stuck because you didn’t plan.
Programming isn’t just typing code—it’s thinking before typing code.
Most beginners assume coding is like:
“Open editor → start typing → figure it out along the way”
But in reality, experienced developers spend something like 60–70% of their time planning, and the funny part?
That planning doesn’t even start in perfect technical language.
Let Me Explain With Something Simple 🍳
Let’s say you want to make fried eggs.
You don’t just walk into the kitchen, turn on the stove, and hope for the best.
You naturally:
- Think about the goal → “I want fried eggs”
- List what you need → eggs, onions, salt, seasoning
- Break it into steps:
- Crack eggs into a bowl
- Chop onions
- Mix everything
- Heat oil
- Fry
Now imagine skipping that and just… throwing random things into a pan 😅
That’s exactly what coding without planning feels like.
Programming Works the Same Way
Before you write a single line of code, you should ask:
- What exactly am I building?
- What should the final result look like?
- What steps will get me there?
For example, building a backend API shouldn’t start with:
“Let me open my editor and create a server…”
It should start with:
- What endpoints do I need?
- What data will they handle?
- How should users interact with it?
- What happens step-by-step when a request comes in?
That’s your “recipe.”
And Yes… Your First Plan Will Be Ugly
Let’s be honest.
Your first plan might be:
- messy
- incomplete
- even a little “stupid”
And that’s perfectly fine.
Planning is not about perfection—it’s about direction.
As you build:
- You’ll notice mistakes
- You’ll go back and adjust
- You’ll refine the idea
That’s the real workflow.
Why Planning Makes You Faster (Ironically)
It feels like planning slows you down.
But in reality:
- You avoid random errors
- You reduce confusion
- You spend less time guessing
So instead of:
code → error → Google → confusion → repeat
You get:
plan → build → adjust → done
Much cleaner. Much faster.
One More Thing (Very Important)
Be careful with how you use AI.
AI is powerful, no doubt. But if you use it to replace your thinking instead of supporting it, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
Don’t let it:
- plan everything for you
- solve everything for you
Use it to:
- guide
- clarify
- improve your ideas
Your critical thinking is still your greatest tool as a developer.
Final Thought
Always know the output you’re aiming for.
Always break things into steps.
And never ignore the small details—they matter more than you think.
Because at the end of the day…
Good code comes from good thinking.
And good thinking starts with a plan.
Follow my next post to see how I made my plan for a project I am currently working on.
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