This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Web Utility labs
Man, I was really bad at coding.
Like really, really bad. My friend could build a whole website before I even got one stupid button to work right. Made me want to throw my laptop out the window.
I thought I was just not good at it or something. But then I started paying attention to what I was doing wrong.
Turns out it wasn't the hard coding stuff that was slowing me down. It was all the dumb little things I kept doing over and over again.
So I changed some simple things. Nothing crazy. Just basic stuff. And now I code way faster and it doesn't make me want to cry anymore.
Here's what worked for me.
1. I Started Saving My Code That I Use Again
Okay this sounds super boring but just listen.
I made a file on my computer called "my-code-stuff.txt" and everytime I wrote something useful, I threw it in there.
You know that CSS code to center things? In there. That JavaScript thing to get data from websites? Yep, in there too. All the stuff I always forgot how to do.
Now when I need to center something, I don't sit there going "wait how do I do this again?" I just copy my code that already works.
I have like 50 pieces of code saved now. Saves me about an hour every day. No joke.
Make a file today. Put one thing in it. You'll thank me later, I promise.
2. I Made My Browser Tools Better
For two whole years, I used tiny tiny text in Chrome dev tools. My eyes hurt so bad and I couldn't see anything.
Then one day I made the text bigger and changed it to dark colors. Why did I wait so long? It's like getting glasses when you can't see.
Also found out Chrome helps you type CSS stuff. When you're looking at a websites code, it guesses what you want to type. Pretty neat.
And I learned Ctrl+Shift+I opens the tools super fast. No more right clicking on stuff like a caveman.
These small changes made finding bugs way less annoying.
3. I Stopped Hitting Refresh All The Time
If you're still hitting F5 every time you change your code, stop it. Just stop.
I made my computer update the webpage by itself when I save my code. Change the HTML? Page updates. Change the colors? They update too. Change JavaScript? Everything just works.
VS Code has this thing called Live Server that does it. React already does it. Even basic websites can do it now.
Once you try this, going back feels like using a really old flip phone.
4. I Finally Learned How to Use My Code Editor
I used VS Code for years and didn't know any of the cool shortcuts. So silly.
The ones that changed my life:
Ctrl+D - Click on a word, hit this, and it picks the next same word. Keep hitting it to get more. Now you can change them all at the same time. So cool.
Ctrl+P - Type part of a file name and jump right to it. No more clicking through a million folders.
Ctrl+H - Find words and change them to other words. Works really good.
Alt+Up/Down - Move whole lines up or down without all that copy paste stuff.
These save me hours every week. And coding feels way easier now.
5. I Started Putting My Files in the Right Places
I used to just dump everything in one folder. Finding stuff took forever.
Now every project looks like this:
my-cool-website/
src/
images/
styles/
That's it. Super simple. Same thing every time.
I know where stuff goes. Other people can find things fast. No more searching everywhere for one stupid file.
Pick whatever way you want. Just do it the same way every time.
6. I Check My Phone Way More (And You Should Too)
I learned this the hard way. Made this whole page that looked amazing on my computer. Then I looked at it on my phone. It looked like garbage.
Now I check my phone after I make big changes. Takes like 10 seconds. Saves me hours of fixing stuff later.
Last week I made a form. Looked perfect on my computer. On my phone you couldn't even see the submit button! Good thing I checked or people would have been really mad.
Keep your phone next to your computer. Check your stuff on it. Trust me.
7. I Write Notes for Future Me (Because I Forget Everything)
I used to write code and think "I'll remember why I did this." Nope. Never remembered anything.
Now when I do something weird, I write a note:
// Had to wait a bit because the popup
// thing isn't ready when this runs
setTimeout(() => {
showPopup();
}, 50);
Takes a few seconds to write. Saves me 20 minutes of being confused later when I look at my own code going "what the heck was I thinking?"
Here's the Real Deal
None of this stuff is rocket science. It's just basic things that most people don't do because they seem boring.
But they add up big time. Each thing saves a little time. Put them together and they save alot of time.
Don't try to do everything at once. That's how you burn out. Pick one thing. Do it for a week. Then pick another one.
Some Tools That Actually Help
I keep a couple simple websites bookmarked for when stuff breaks:
When I copy code from websites and it looks all messed up, I use this Code Snippet Cleaner to fix it. Way faster than fixing all the spaces by hand.
And when I'm working with those JSON files and they're broken (happens all the time), this JSON Formatter fixes them quick. No more looking for missing commas forever.
Both work right in your browser. No downloading stuff or signing up for anything.
Just Do It Already
Pick one thing from this list. Try it tomorrow. Don't think too hard about it.
I started with saving my code snippets. Made the file in 2 minutes and started using it right away. Once that felt normal, I learned some keyboard shortcuts.
Six months later I code way faster than I ever thought I could. You can do it too.
What tricks do you use to code faster? Tell me in the comments. I always want to learn new stuff.
*Follow me if you want more tips that actually work.
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Web Utility labs
Web Utility labs | Sciencx (2025-06-15T02:44:29+00:00) I Was The Slowest Coder Ever (Here’s How I Got Fast). Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2025/06/15/i-was-the-slowest-coder-ever-heres-how-i-got-fast/
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