How and Why I'm Stuck in Tutorial Hell, and Probably You Are Too

 For as long as I can remember, tutorials have been the backbone of every project I made. They weren’t just the backbone; they were the entire project. Somehow, for reasons only God knows, I don't know how to start a project unless there is someone doing the same thing in a video, and I'm right there copy-pasting. Of course, I convince myself that I'm actually writing the code. I'm doing effort 😅

What makes this even funnier is how different things are when I'm in class. Whether it’s a web course, a mobile development course, or any random subject where I can’t rely on tutorials, I actually perform well. I can solve problems, build the front end, handle the backend, and everything feels doable. But the moment I'm back home, sitting alone with my computer, it's like I forget how to code unless there’s a tutorial video running in another tab.

This is what they call tutorial hell. It’s not just me; so many developers get stuck in it. In my case, a big reason is that I absolutely hate building UI from scratch. It takes too long, and I get impatient. The easiest way out is having someone else already did it, then I take it, maybe tweak a thing or two, and move on.

Of course, this is a terrible habit. I know it. And honestly, I feel stuck in it. I won’t sugarcoat it. I’m lazy when it comes to thinking up my own ideas. I’ve convinced myself there’s no way out, but at least now I’m trying to do something about it.

Recently, I made a decision. No more watching, just reading. Books instead of videos. No one to follow, no one to copy from, just me and the text. It’s not easy, but it feels like the right step.

The consequences of this tutorial dependency have even hit my academic life. I delayed my graduation by a full semester. Instead of finishing in the spring, I’m now set to graduate in the fall of the next year. While there are other personal reasons too, one of the biggest was my inability to find a decent tutorial for my senior project.

When I finally did find one, I told myself I would just use the frontend from it, but build a brand new backend on my own. That sounded great in theory. When I started working on it and realized how long it would take, and how hard it might get, I ran straight back to the tutorial. This time, I tried to move at my own pace, using the video more as a reference if things went wrong. It’s progress, kind of.

Now, since it’s summer and there’s still time before the fall semester begins, I’m seriously considering changing my senior project one more time 😂 At this point, it feels like I’ll never finish this degree.

But deep down, I still have hope. Maybe by the start of fall, I’ll finally climb out of this tutorial hell and become a programmer who can actually solve problems, not just follow along.