Is it normal for beginners to take a lot of time to just read the problem and understand what the problem wants you to do? I'm having a hard time understanding the problem's description and I often give up and go directly to the editorial for help, I'm not even passing the first stage of understanding the problem let alone solving it!
yeah bro! i also face this problem today contest.i am also a beginner. i think it's difficuilt for begginer.! .I feel their description of problem more confusing for me.. when i reading the input , output and note for the problem . i got some idea
Yes, it is normal in the beginning to not understand the problem very quickly but if you don't try to understand it yourself, it will always remain difficult.
It's ok if you take 20-30 minutes just to understand the problem. You will eventually get comfortable in understanding those problems quickly. But only if you are putting honest effort into it.
If you are an absolute beginner then, it's normal. It will take a lot of time to get into it. You can do this-
Sort the problems by number of submissions in dec order. Then try solving them one by one. Don't wait more than 30 minutes for understanding a problem or getting the logic. Sometimes problems statement may have stories, try to avoid this.
All the best. Go ahead.
Try AtCoder (especially Beginner Contests), wonderful problems, short statements and no stories :)