Common Proposal Mistakes

❌ Wrong:
"I will work on the ideas mentioned in your 
project ideas page."

✅ Right:
"The project needs better caching. I will 
implement Redis-based caching for post queries, 
addressing issue #456. This will reduce database 
load by 40% and improve latency."

❌ Wrong Timeline (10 weeks):
- Redesign entire architecture
- Rewrite 50,000 lines of code
- Add 10 new major features
- Achieve 99.99% uptime

✅ Right Timeline (10 weeks):
- Implement feature X (weeks 1-3)
- Add tests and documentation (weeks 4-5)
- Optimize and polish (weeks 6-8)
- Buffer for reviews (weeks 9-10)

❌ "I'm very interested and quick learner"
✅ "I've already submitted PR #123, which was merged"

❌ "Around 3-4 weeks for the main feature"
✅ 
- Week 1-2: Database schema design and migration
- Week 3-4: API implementation and testing
- Week 5: Performance optimization

❌ Perfect timeline with zero buffer
✅ Timeline with 20% buffer for reviews and 
   blockers, plus fallback plan if blocked

❌ Proposing something unrelated to project ideas
✅ Addressing specific points from project description

❌ 50-page proposal
✅ 5-10 page proposal with clear sections

❌ "I assume the current approach is X"
✅ "The current approach is X [with link to code], 
   and I will improve it by..."

❌ Silent proposal submitted
✅ "I'm concerned about Y. Is my approach correct? 
   I was considering Z as alternative."