Ctrl+S Saved My Sanity (And My Career)
Shruti SinghHi, I'm Shruti, and I just did the dumbest thing ever.
So a few days ago, my PC was being absolute trash. Like, slower than my grandma typing on WhatsApp. I got fed up and did a complete reset because why not start fresh, right?
After the reset, I was actually excited. Time to set up my perfect dev environment! I installed Node.js, VS Code, Git – the whole shebang. I was ready to code like a boss.
Then I tried running my projects. Next.js? Nothing. React with Vite? Nada. TanStack Query? Still broken.
Every single project was dead.
I spent the ENTIRE day debugging. Reinstalled packages, cleared cache, checked configs, googled every error message. Nothing worked. I was losing my mind.
Went to bed frustrated as hell, convinced I'd somehow destroyed everything.
Next morning, I made one tiny change to my code and out of pure habit pressed Ctrl+S.
And everything magically worked.
Turns out, VS Code's auto-save was disabled after the reset. For 24 hours, I was editing files that weren't actually saving. Every change disappeared the moment I refreshed the browser.
Twenty-four hours of debugging. Fixed with one keyboard shortcut.
I felt so stupid I wanted to throw my laptop out the window.
Now I'm going to get my coffee and pretend this never happened.
My life sucks.
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Written by
Shruti Singh
Shruti Singh
Hey, I'm Shruti 👋 I'm a passionate self-taught developer who dove headfirst into web development in 2022 after completing my intermediate education. I specialize in crafting seamless user experiences with React, Next.js, and TypeScript, while continuously expanding my full-stack capabilities. This blog is where I document what I'm learning, building, and improving — in public. What drives me is the thrill of shipping polished products that solve real-world problems and creating intuitive, high-performance web experiences. What you'll find here: Lessons from building full-stack projects with clean UI and smooth UX Deep dives into React, TypeScript, and frontend performance Tips for mastering freelancing and handling clients professionally Honest stories from my journey — mindset shifts, confidence, and growth Exploring emerging technologies and design principles My journey is defined by constant learning, building, and refining—each project pushing my technical boundaries further. I believe great frontend development sits at the intersection of technical excellence and thoughtful user experience, and that's exactly where I aim to excel. If you're learning, freelancing, or trying to get really good at frontend dev — you'll feel right at home here. Let's grow together. ✨