I recommend version control. You pick up the basics of git pretty quickly, and it's another tool in your belt.
Plus it allows you to safely experiment and spike out new ideas with a safe roll-back point. Then when the ideas are more fleshed out you can roll back and integrate the features properly.
Most of my code tends to be bug free due to being very loosely coupled with heavy test coverage (so I get near instant feedback if things are not as expected, and can track down issues quickly), though things will still occasionally slip past.
Plus, I like the peace of mind of knowing if things blow up I have a relatively painless way to roll back.
Also issue trackers are a good way to map out features to be implemented, though admittedly not intended for this and github's issue tracker is no JIRA...