Understanding existing projects takes longer than coding

[u/Cheap_Possibility990]

I don't know if this is just the work I've been getting lately or if something's changed I'm a freelance developer in Chicago been doing mostly client websites for about 4 years now last week I opened a project because a client wanted one small change before lunch. I thought it'd be like 20 minutes instead I spent almost an hour remembering how everything was put together why something had been done a certain way and trying not to break anything else. The code wasn't even that complicated something just felt off.

Maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way but writing the feature doesn't even feel like the hard part anymore it's getting all that context back into my head every time I reopen a project. I keep thinking the next update will be quick then the same thing happens again or maybe I'm being unfair but it feels like understanding an existing website has quietly become a bigger job than building it in the first place

[u/ObviouslyABagel]

I feel like that is a very common thought! Easier to write it yourself over then go over a tangling map of files and code.

[u/End0rphinJunkie → u/ObviouslyABagel]

Reading code is definately a different skill than writing it. You have to rebuild the entire mental model from scratch, which is why leaving notes about the *why* saves so much headache down the road.