Okay, so the name Supriya Annaiah popped up today. Can’t exactly pinpoint where I saw it, maybe scrolled past it somewhere online, or perhaps someone mentioned it? Doesn’t matter much, but it got me thinking about something.
It reminded me of this phase I went through a while back, trying to get better at documenting my little coding projects. Not the big stuff, just the personal tinkering I do on weekends.
My Old Messy Way
Before, I’d just hack away. Got an idea Saturday morning? By Sunday night, I’d have a folder full of files, maybe a half-working thing, and zero notes. If I looked back a month later? Total mystery. Couldn’t remember why I made certain choices or what I was even trying to fix last.
- Just jump straight into coding.
- No plan written down.
- File names like `test_final_v2_*`. You know the type.
- Zero comments in the code.
- Forget about a README file.
Trying Something New
So, I decided I had to actually practice documenting. It felt silly for small projects, but I forced myself.
First, I started simple. Before writing any code, I’d open a plain text file. Just a `*`.
I’d jot down:
- What’s the basic idea? (One sentence)
- What am I trying to achieve today? (A small goal)
- Any tricky parts I foresee?
Then, as I worked, if I hit a roadblock or made a decision I thought might be confusing later, I’d quickly add a note. Like, “Okay, had to use this weird workaround because the library thingy didn’t work as expected.”
At the end of a session, even if it was just an hour, I’d write down:
- What I actually got done.
- What’s the next step for next time.
It felt slow at first. Like, really slow. Stopping to write felt like breaking my flow. But honestly, after a few weeks, it started paying off. I could actually pick up projects after leaving them for a bit. Looking back at `*` was way faster than trying to decipher my own uncommented code.
It wasn’t anything fancy, no special tools. Just plain text. But it made a difference. Funny how a random name floating by can trigger these kinds of reflections on past efforts.
