One safe idea
A branch is a separate line of work. Use it when you are adding a feature, fixing a bug, or trying an idea that may break the project.
Keep main as the working version. Do your messy work on a branch, test it, then merge it back.
Why branches help
In a hackathon team, two people may edit the project at the same time. One person works on login. Another updates the landing page. Branches stop both changes from getting mixed too early.
Even when you work solo, branches help your commit history. A recruiter can see one clean story: branch made, commits added, branch merged.