Two principles that actually help.
First Principles: Think from Zero
The core of first principles is refusing analogy. When you hit a problem, don’t ask “how do others do it?” Ask “what is this, fundamentally?”
Break the problem down to indivisible facts, then rebuild the answer from scratch. It’s slow, but the conclusion is yours — not borrowed.
KISS: Don’t Add What You Don’t Need
KISS is pragmatism, not Occam’s razor. Simple things are easy to change, fix, and throw away.
Don’t add unnecessary abstraction layers. Don’t make decisions for the user. Arch Linux bakes this into its philosophy.