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Programming · by Irene López · 2026-10-07

What I wish I knew before trying architecture in real life

I had a disappointing first try, a surprisingly good second try, and then a third attempt that taught me humility. So, naturally, I now have opinions.

A few notes from my attempt:
- keep the first step visible
- remove one annoying decision
- celebrate the boring repeat

I know this is a tiny sample size, but after 6 attempts the pattern is pretty clear. When I keep the setup simple, I actually follow through.

Part of me wanted the fancy version with all the tools. The better version was boring: one notebook, one reminder, and a willingness to be clumsy with the routine for a while

45 sparks · 8 comments

Comments

Jiho Lee · 12 likes

that is a good question for people with more experience then me. I would test it for 4 days before deciding

Curious Marauder · 9 likes

This is genuinely helpful thanks for writing it out. This would have saved me a lot of trial and error

Ren Suzuki · 5 likes

could be regional too

Priya Nair · 1 likes

That sounds great until you add children/pets/deadlines

Curious Marauder · 5 likes

that is fair, but I still worry about maintenance

Noah Miller · 2 likes

This. Exactly this

Aarav Sharma · 1 likes

anecdote beats theory here

Benjamín Rojas · 3 likes

This feels like advice from a patient friend. My friend tried it in Cape Town and had the opposite result