I've taken the exact same approach through the years as I've gradually started working on more complex projects. So, it's sort of comforting knowing that I'm no

I've taken the exact same approach through the years as I've gradually started working on more complex projects. So, it's sort of comforting knowing that I'm not alone in the "just get something working, no matter how ugly/bad it is" camp. This sort of mentality, no matter how good/bad, was really helpful because it forced me to take a look at what I had made objectively, as I began to look back on old code/projects I wrote and finally ssee not only how "ugly" it was, but more importantly, why it was ugly. I'd then move on to a more challenging project, proceed to find some horrific, hacky solution, then talk and show it to people smarter than me and who could point out better ways to do things. I think if you're able to look at things you've made from years back and say "wow, I was a much worse programmer then, for these reasons", that says a lot about how much you've learned so far.