Getting Into The Zone Slowly
For the last 3 days, I have been giving one virtual LeetCode contest daily.
Weekly 511, 510, 509. [One of these on day 2 because I remember I missed giving the contest on one of the days.]
I have finally fixed my problem of panicking, freezing, and quitting early.
Now, 90 minutes truly feel nothing like headaches or fear.
The contests were hard.
So, yes, I couldn’t solve everything; however, I am good enough to pass most of my test cases.
Even with the brute force ideas.
The point is I don’t know algorithms like Booth’s algorithm, Manacher’s algorithm, Rabin-Karp, or Knuth’s.
And that’s why I found a good resource:
See, the updated process now is simple:
- 1 LeetCode weekly Virtual [I think biweekly(s) are easier],
- 1 hour to read the CP algorithms; the goal is to get max hands-on,
- 3 SQL questions [yes, I have been doing 3 daily from the top 50 list],
- then 30 mins aptitude [mock 1 day, upsolve next 2-3],
- Lastly, move on to company-specific prep and projects and core subjects.
I asked AI to summarize my 3 contests well:
After reviewing these three contests, I’d place this performance around the 1450–1550 problem-solving level. Easy problems are consistently solved, many medium problems are within reach, but medium-hard and hard problems are still a challenge. The main reasons are taking too long to identify the key insight and not yet knowing some advanced competitive programming algorithms (such as Manacher’s or Booth’s) that occasionally appear. The fundamentals are solid, and the next step is improving problem modeling while gradually expanding the advanced algorithm toolbox.
That’s it for the day; off to projects.
Also, for core subjects, I’ll start with this one tomorrow: a 21-day lock-in, but I’ll start with computer networks:
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/blogs/prepare-cs-core-subjects-for-placements
After 5 days, I think I am getting more confident in my prep.