I have started with the one-acre garden. Without a dedicated couple of hours a day, you lose it. I prefer no-till because it interrupts the soil less, but no-till does not make an acre maintain itself.
Once weeds get ahead of you at that scale, the garden stops being a food system and becomes a guilt system. You start over next year and repeat the same mistake.
If you cannot maintain it during a busy week, it was too large before you planted it.
Build where your hands can reach
Start with containers, a small raised bed or a bed at table height. Pulling a few weeds from a contained space is different from facing an acre. Most households are trying to feed themselves, not the neighborhood.
If you need a larger crop, plan the weed-control system before planting. Ground cloth, spacing, irrigation access and harvest time belong in the design. The answer is not merely more rows.
Grow what you will actually handle
Choose crops around diet, storage and processing capacity. Sweet potatoes and some squash store well. Peas and beans can be frozen or canned. Tomatoes demand attention when they ripen. Two hundred quarts of pickles taught me that producing a lot and using a lot are two different things.
Grow enough to learn the crop and eat it fresh. Get preservation skills and storage ready before increasing volume.