Everyone tells you how to write perfect code. But no one tells you how easy it is to mess things up, especially when you're just starting out.
Here are 7 real mistakes I made that nearly destroyed my projects and how I came back stronger from each one.
1. Writing Code Without Planning Anything:
I jumped straight into coding because I was too excited.
Halfway through, I had no structure, messy logic, and tons of bugs.
The Result: Now, I sketch out a quick plan, even 10 minutes of thinking saves hours of debugging.
2. Copy-Pasting Stack Overflow Without Understanding:
I copied a solution that worked—until it didn’t.
One tiny change broke everything, and I had no clue why.
The Result: I still use Stack Overflow, but I make sure I understand every line I paste.
3. Ignoring Git Until the Last Minute:
I lost an entire day’s work because I forgot to commit.
Also, debugging without version control is literal pain.
The Result: I commit after every major change and push regularly. Git is now my safety net.
4. Not Reading the Documentation:
I wasted hours searching for answers that were literally in the first paragraph of the docs.
The Result: First I read the docs, then surf the internet for information. Even the order of this matters.
5. Overengineering Everything:
I tried to build “the perfect solution” with 10 extra features I didn’t need.
Ended up overwhelmed and lost interest.
The Result: Build version 1 very simple. Improve later. Launch ugly, improve fast.
6. Not Asking for Help:
I stayed stuck on a bug for 3 days because I didn’t want to “look dumb” by asking help. It was a terrible mistake.
The Result: I now ask questions early—online, Discord, dev forums. No shame in learning.
7. Testing Code in Production:
I pushed code live without testing.
It broke. My whole site went down.
The Result: I test locally, then deploy to staging, then go live. Never gonna skip testing again.
Final Thoughts:
Every dev makes mistakes, but those mistakes can be your best teachers.
If even one of these helped you dodge a bullet, this post did its job.
Which one hit you the hardest? Drop it in the comments.
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