How To Start Programming Projects The Lazy Way

How To Start Programming Projects The Lazy Way

Written by Massa Medi

So you want to start programming a project. Cool. I am proud of you. And also, yeah, you might not know how to start. That feeling where your brain freezes and you instantly invent 20 new chores so you do not have to open your editor - that one. Sounds like a good case of skill-ish. A lot of you have been asking me how to start a new programming project, so let me help you out without fluff, without fake hustle, and with the exact lazy method I actually use.

Why You Do Not Start The Project

The problem is you do not know how to start the project. Why? You cannot talk to me in real time, right, so I am going to assume a few things based on how beginners usually get stuck. I have seen these play out countless times in my own DMs, comments, and in my own head when I first started. If you recognize yourself in any of these, do not be embarrassed. I was just like you, and honestly, most developers go through this stage.

Prefer watching instead of reading? You can watch the full walkthrough below, or keep scrolling to read the complete article.

  • 1. You are overthinking the project

    Overthinking is like putting a brick on your own accelerator and wondering why the car screeches. You picture the final product, compare it to the best apps on the planet, and instantly decide your version will be trash. You then spend 3 hours researching frameworks you will never use and 0 minutes writing code. The truth is the first version is supposed to be ugly and half-baked. Your only job is to start, not to finish an award-winning build on day one. The brain loves to chase perfect and avoid progress, so we are going to cut that loop.

  • 2. You do not know how to plan and execute

    Planning feels mysterious when you have not done it much. You think planning means writing a 20-page spec and building a Gantt chart like you are running a space mission. It does not. Planning for an individual project is simply deciding the smallest next step and writing it down so you do not have to re-decide it every day. Execution then becomes checking off tiny steps. Divide and conquer is the whole vibe, not make a movie trailer in your head and then ghost your codebase.

  • 3. You do not know how to program

    This one is real. If you literally do not know the language, the syntax, or how to run a file, then of course starting feels like a wall. It is not a moral failure, it is just missing knowledge. When you try to build while learning the alphabet, you get frustrated and call yourself dumb. You are not dumb. You just need a few basics first so the project does not feel like a foreign planet. We will talk about how to handle this without doom-scrolling tutorial videos forever.

  • 4. You do not have a project idea

    Blank pages are terrifying. You open a new repo, name it something hopeful, and then stare at it like it owes you money. Without an idea, the first commit is just vibes. Picking an idea is a skill by itself, and the good news is it gets easier when you stop trying to invent the next billion dollar company on day one. We will fix this by finding ideas that match your goal, your interests, and your current level so you actually start and stay consistent.

  • 5. You have skill issues and you are stuck in tutorial hell

    Yeah, I said it. You watch a tutorial, feel smart, close it, forget everything, and then start another tutorial. That loop feels productive because you are absorbing information, but you are not building anything. This creates fake confidence and real paralysis. The only way out is to build something without pausing every 2 minutes to watch someone else type. It is uncomfortable for a week or two, then it clicks, and you never want to go back.

I am going to assume 80 percent of you are the last three reasons. Again, do not be embarrassed. I had issues starting projects too. These days I have the opposite problem - finishing them. When you have more experience, you will have those problems too, and that is a better problem to have. When I first started programming, I definitely felt the most overwhelmed at the start. Once I had something, anything, it got easier. It is just starting the project that feels like pushing a car uphill.

We Start With The Idea - But Not The Unicorn Kind

We cannot start a project without an idea, right? Luckily for you, I have a video on project ideas if you are interested. Or you can check the greatest newsletter of all time, Sloth Bites. I hate. Yes, that is me both hyping it and roasting myself at the same time. Sloth Bites is where I drop ideas, frameworks, and spicy takes that help you get unstuck fast. If you like snack-sized prompts, job-ready tech stacks, and memes that roast over-engineering, that is the vibe.

Finding a project idea can be as simple as solving a tiny problem you hit every day, or as complex as trying to create the next billion dollar company. The trap is a lot of beginners aim for the billion dollar company when they do not even know how to program yet. That is like trying to run a marathon in dress shoes because you saw someone on YouTube do it. Before we even start thinking of project ideas, answer this first: what is your goal for this project?

Pick Your Goal First

  • Do you want to get better at programming?

    If yes, your project should force you to practice fundamentals on repeat. That means lots of input-output, problem solving, and feedback loops. You will aim for quick wins and short builds. You will reuse patterns and avoid shiny frameworks that hide the basics from you.

  • Do you want to put this project on your resume?

    Then the tech stack matters. The features matter. The repo quality matters. You will pick tools that show up in real job postings and make sure your project demonstrates the exact skills those jobs hire for. Pretty simple logic: match the job, increase odds.

  • Do you want to turn this project into a business?

    Then you need something people actually want, plus a tiny audience who will try it. You will focus on solving a painful problem and shipping an MVP people can use in a week, not a year. You will care about feedback, pricing, and iteration, not 20 features no one asked for.

Your goal decides your project. The wrong goal with the wrong idea is why people stall for months. Align them and momentum shows up.

Match Your Interests So You Actually Finish

What do you like? Do you like making games? Cool, then build little game mechanics, not an entire MMORPG. Do you like AI? Great, then add one targeted AI feature to a simple app. What type of websites do you like using? E-commerce, dashboards, community sites, blogs, landing pages - whatever you actually enjoy clicking is what you will enjoy building. When your interest matches your build, you do not have to drag yourself back to the keyboard. You show up because you want to see it work.

If You Are Aiming For A Resume Project

Before you write a single line, look at real jobs. Not one job. Multiple jobs. Read the descriptions and write down the technologies they want. Circle the ones that show up the most across postings.

  • Front-end roles might repeat React, TypeScript, Next.js, testing tools, and CSS frameworks.
  • Back-end roles might repeat Node, Express, PostgreSQL, ORMs, Docker, and cloud basics.
  • Data roles might repeat Python, pandas, SQL, visualization tools, and basic stats.

Use those technologies in your project. If your project uses the stuff they ask for, you are more likely to get picked. Pretty simple. It is not about flexing the rarest tool. It is about aligning with what companies actually use.

If You Do Not Know Any Programming Yet

If you do not know a single thing about programming, focus on learning the language basics before forcing a project. That is not gatekeeping, that is pacing. Get comfortable with variables, functions, loops, conditionals, and data structures. Learn how to run code locally, print debug info, and read error messages without panicking. Give yourself 1 to 2 weeks of language reps, then pick a tiny project to lock it in.

Since you cannot talk back to me - thankfully - I am going to assume most of you want to get better at programming. So enough yap. Here is how I actually find and pick ideas you can start today.

Strategy 1: Steal - I Mean, Take Inspiration

I need you to understand your project does not have to be groundbreaking. The goal of your project is to apply your skills in a practical way, not to change the world. You are here to learn how to code, to practice, and to ship. So look at projects that are commonly recommended to beginners on YouTube, in books, on learning platforms, and try to make them. Preferably without relying on the tutorial step-by-step. Because if you copy every keystroke, you will not learn to drive, you will just learn to watch someone else drive.

Classic Starter Projects That Actually Teach You Things

  • Calculator

    It looks simple, but it forces you to handle user input, state, and edge cases. You will write functions, parse operations, and manage UI updates. Suddenly order of operations matters, decimals matter, and you get a fun debugging session for free. This is great JavaScript practice and a perfect way to fight tutorial hell because the logic is yours.

  • Simple Blog

    A blog gives you CRUD without the scary label. You will create posts, read them, update them, and delete them. You will deal with routing, forms, and maybe a database if you are ready. You will learn how to structure a project and how to make content flow. It is a classic for a reason.

  • To-do list

    Every web developer has made this at least once. It is predictable in a good way. You will build a list, toggle completion, filter tasks, and maybe persist them. That is state management 101. You also get to practice layout, components, and tiny UX touches like keyboard shortcuts and validation.

Even though these projects are common, you will still learn a lot. But I get it - some of you want resume-worthy projects, and a plain to-do might not be enough. So let us make it stand out without reinventing the universe.

Make Your Project Unique With One Twist

Recruiters see thousands of applications. They see the same projects again and again. To stand out, you do not need 50 features. You just need one unique twist. We can take notes from real businesses. Most of them are similar to other businesses. The difference is one unique angle, one feature, one niche, or one audience that changes how people use it.

Example: The To-do App With A Twist

Base version: a to-do app. Super basic. Nothing crazy. Every web dev has made it. How can we make it unique?

  • Twist 1: AI to-do app

    It is a little less common, but it is getting more popular. Add natural language input so a user can type, "Plan my week with 4 workouts, 3 coding sessions, and 2 grocery runs," and your app explodes that into tasks with dates. That alone teaches you parsing, prompt design, and task generation.

  • Twist 2: AI to-do app for programmers

    This is a unique project. Same to-do core, but the audience is engineers. Now your app can parse GitHub issues into tasks, ingest commit messages to auto-complete the next steps, or tag tasks by repo. You might integrate lint warnings as tasks or auto-schedule time after each PR merge. Even though it is still a to-do app, it stands out and you learn way more than a tutorial clone.

Notice something: we kept the base app familiar and added one twist. One. That is all you need. Your twist can be the audience, the input method, the data source, or a small AI assist. Pick one, ship it, and you already look different.

How I Actually Start - The Lazy Way That Works

If you watch my past videos and my upload schedule, you know I am a pretty lazy person. So obviously I have a lazy way to start projects. But let me explain what I mean by lazy. When I say lazy, I do not mean brain rot or doing things sloppy. Most times when I say lazy, I am talking about working smarter, not harder. We here at Sloth Corporation encourage laziness as long as it saves time, reduces stress, and increases productivity. Lazy is a strategy, not an excuse.

Step 1: Break It Down Into Tiny, Obvious Tasks

Like most things in programming, we break the work into small manageable tasks. That is problem solving. Divide and conquer. When you start a project, break it down based on what you already know. Use familiar ground to remove unknowns, then expand.

Example: Starting The To-do App With Next.js

If I wanted to start this project, what do I know? Well, I unfortunately know JavaScript. I also know a little bit of Next.js, and the goal of this project is for me to learn Next.js better. So I start there. How about I start at the Next.js docs. Oh, I am so smart. Would you look at that - a get started guide.

By thinking about what I know, I just reduced a lot of unknown variables. Now I am one step closer to starting. My first micro tasks might look like this:

  • Read the Next.js get started page for 10 minutes, no rabbit holes.
  • Run create-next-app to spin up a project.
  • Start the dev server and confirm the boilerplate renders.
  • Create a tasks page and a TaskItem component.
  • Add basic state for an array of tasks, hardcoded first.

Five tiny steps and you are already coding. No need to design your logo or architect your database for 3 hours. Get the core screen up. Then iterate.

Step 2: Use Templates Or Boilerplates - Yes, Seriously

Use templates or boilerplates. You heard me right - use boilerplate code. However, if you are completely new to a concept, do not use the boilerplate until you understand what it is doing. If you do understand the concepts, then feel free to use templates. They speed up everything and let you focus on the differentiators.

Templates is cheating. My day we built everything from scratch.

Shut up. Some people have problems with templates or boilerplate code. Are templates bad? No, definitely not. Why do you think we make them in the first place? A lot of developers like to be lazy and I am one of them. That is why we love templates. They speed up everything. Once again, this all depends on your project goals and experience.

  • If your goal is to learn or you do not have much experience with this stack, a template might hide the things you need to learn. Build a basic version first.
  • If your goal is a resume project or you already have experience with this stack, use a template. It will speed everything up so you can invest time in your unique twist.

It is not going to kill you. As long as you understand most of the code, you will be fine.

Step 3: Aim For An MVP, Not A Masterpiece

A nice goal you should try to reach is an MVP. MVP stands for minimum viable product. What is an MVP, Sloth? It is the most basic version of your project. You are just focusing on the core essentials and nothing more. No feature creep. No procrastinating on random features. Hopefully just the essential stuff your project needs to work.

For a to-do app, MVP is simple:

  • Add a task
  • Toggle a task complete
  • Delete a task
  • Persist tasks locally or in a simple DB

Once you finish that, now you can work on other stuff. Filters, due dates, AI assist, user auth - whatever. MVP first, spice later.

Step 4: Take Regular Breaks - Touch Grass

My most important tip for any lazy person: take regular breaks. Yes, taking a break and touching grass will help you. I am not lying. If you take a short break, you are going to develop some brain cells, and when you go back to programming, it is going to feel easier. Walk, water, stretch, look far away, then come back and bulldoze the bug that was bullying you.

Wrap Up

So that is how you start: pick a goal, pick an idea that matches it, take inspiration without cloning, add one twist to stand out, start lazy by breaking it down, use templates when it fits your goal, hit MVP, and actually take breaks. Do that and you will stop circling the runway and finally take off. Keep the vibe simple. Keep the steps tiny. Keep shipping. Good luck with your projects, and I hope they fail.

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