Thanks a lot for the detailed reply. Your points about defining goals first and using AI to understand codebases really helped. I think earlier I jumped into contributing without properly understanding the repo structure and workflow. This time I want to approach it more systematically. Also, could you share some good resources, guides, or repositories for learning open-source workflows and understanding large codebases better?

I read the whole blog and really liked your perspective and insights. As someone from a tech background, I wanted to ask for your guidance on open source. I’ve tried contributing multiple times before, but I often felt lost and couldn’t stay consistent. This time, I want to approach it properly and efficiently. Could you share a practical roadmap on how to start contributing effectively — like what should be the first steps after finding a repo? Should I first read the README, understand the project structure, explore the codebase, check issues, or try small fixes first? Also, how do experienced contributors usually understand large codebases and stay consistent while contributing?