u/Friendly_Purple_6801

ive been working on a side idea for a while, but mostly just in notes and messy planning. i always thought once i got to the build it stage everything would feel clear but honestly it feels like the opposite right now

the more i learn, the more i realize how much i didnt think through properly at the start. not even in a technical way, more like not being clear on what actually needs to be built and why

ive been slowing down a bit and trying to structure things better before jumping in. even went through some material like the book i have an app idea while trying to figure my process out, and it made me rethink a lot of what i was rushing past before

now im at the point where i need to actually start development, but im realizing i dont want to just jump in blindly or overbuild something useless

for people whove been through this stage before, what helped you most when you were moving from planning to actually building your first real project?

did you just start coding or did you structure it more first?

i dont usually post but i feel like i need to say this somewhere people might actually get it

i spent months trying to build something on the side while working full time in tech and i kept blaming myself for not moving fast enough. i thought i just wasnt disciplined or technical enough or something

but when i really sat down and looked at it i realized i wasnt stuck because of coding or tools. i was stuck because i had no real clarity on what i was building in the first place. i had features written down but no clear problem no actual person in mind. it felt like i was busy the whole time but not really moving forward

a few weeks ago i forced myself to slow down and rethink everything. i ended up reading a book i have an app idea while trying to sort things out and it kinda hit me how much i was skipping before even starting. like basic stuff i just ignored because i wanted to get to the building part. honestly it was frustrating to realize that but also weirdly a relief. like okay its not that im bad at this i just started in the wrong place

now im questioning things way earlier and it feels slower but also way less chaotic. curious if anyone else here went through something like this especially balancing tech work and trying to build something on the side. did you also hit that point where you realized you were solving the wrong thing