Hello everyone,

I am a complete beginner who has just started Competitive Programming, and my short-term goal is to reach the Pupil rank within the next three months. Since I am still new, I would like to get some guidance and suggestions from the experienced members here about how to approach practice and learning in the most effective way.

My main confusion is about how to structure my practice. I am not sure how many problems I should solve daily and whether I should participate in every Codeforces contest or just some of them. Another doubt I have is about the problem-solving process itself: how much time should I spend thinking about a problem before checking the editorial, and how can I read the editorial in a way that truly helps me grow instead of just copying the solution?

Sometimes I also face difficulty when I try to understand others’ code or even the editorial itself. There are cases where I read it multiple times but still cannot fully understand what is going on. I want to know what I should do in such situations so that I do not get stuck or demotivated, and instead keep learning step by step.

In addition to that, I would like to know which topics a beginner should focus on first, and if there are any reliable resources or roadmaps that can guide me through the basics in a structured way.

I know that consistency, patience, and practice are the key factors in improvement, but I do not want to waste time following the wrong approach. Any kind of advice, tips, or roadmap from experienced programmers would be highly appreciated. Thank you very much for your time and guidance .