It's very easy to write and test short sketches on the Arduino. So start with a small sketch that does a single part of your project. When you are comfortable that you have it working and understand it do another one. When they are all done you can start to consider how to amalgamate them. (By the way this is not just a beginner's technique).
It is common for beginners to make use of the delay() function - and it is very convenient for quick and dirty bits of code. But it quickly starts to get in the way of slightly more complex sketches because the Arduino can't do anything else (such as check for a button push) while the delay() is running. The Blink Without Delay example sketch shows how to manage timing without using delay().
...R