I create a repo for it. That gives me kind of freedom and confidence while coding. Now it's a habit.
Then fix the dev and prod mode build of the app. Make sure it works in both the cases.
Do setup my CI/CD and confirm it is working fine.. as I push changes, things are reflecting correctly till the point to access the app on a URL beyond localhost.
At this stage, I break down the known tasks, put them in a tracking tool. I use github 'projects' to list them down and execute one by one in logical manner. I do create branches for all the logical features/bug-fixes.