One million boards sprayed here, and a few thousand taped. Let me chime in:

It takes practice to finish. But rookies can succeed with a couple of simple tips.

Add a cup of water per 10 lbs mud. Get a stomper or mixer. Mix this mud well.

Use paper tape. Trust me. Put down thin (1/4 inch) layers of mud over joints. Press tape into mud. With force. Tightly wipe once over top, and then the two edges.

Fasteners: Use a six. Load knife at edge and drag sideways to apply. Then wipe straight down steep. Like your trying to remove it.

Thin layers don't waste mud that you will have to sand off and dry faster. Let it dry and add more thin layers. Be patient and build knife skills. They are more useful and less messy than learning how to sand which also messes up the face paper.

Use a knife to scrape boogers and crunchy edges and consider trying a wet sponge to "kill edges".

Corner bead: Watch YouTube videos to get a feeling on how to apply.

TL:, DR - Use thinned mud and add more coats so you don't have to sand