I’m not a candidate master, nor am I solving Div 2 D problems in 10 minutes. I’m still a beginner, still getting TLEs, and still struggling with basic logic.↵
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But instead of giving up, I tweaked my mindset recently, and it changed how I practice:↵
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**1. The 15-Minute Paper Rule**↵
Earlier, I used to stare at an empty IDE for an hour feeling dumb. Now, if I can't figure out the logic on paper in 15 minutes for Problem A or B, I don't ego-grind. I look at a small hint or dry-run test cases manually.↵
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**2. Learning from Clean Code**↵
After a contest, I open the shortest accepted submissions for Problem A/B. Seeing someone solve in 10 clean lines what took me 40 lines of messy nested loops is a huge eye-opener.↵
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**3. Rating Doesn't Matter (Yet)******↵
Focusing on + delta or — delta was ruining my focus. Now I only track my up-solved problems.↵
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If you're also struggling at the bottom of Div 3/4, you're not alone. We're all learning.↵
↵
What’s one thing that helped you most when you were just starting out?
↵
But instead of giving up, I tweaked my mindset recently, and it changed how I practice:↵
↵
**1. The 15-Minute Paper Rule**↵
Earlier, I used to stare at an empty IDE for an hour feeling dumb. Now, if I can't figure out the logic on paper in 15 minutes for Problem A or B, I don't ego-grind. I look at a small hint or dry-run test cases manually.↵
↵
**2. Learning from Clean Code**↵
After a contest, I open the shortest accepted submissions for Problem A/B. Seeing someone solve in 10 clean lines what took me 40 lines of messy nested loops is a huge eye-opener.↵
↵
**3. Rating Doesn't Matter (Yet)**
Focusing on + delta or — delta was ruining my focus. Now I only track my up-solved problems.↵
↵
If you're also struggling at the bottom of Div 3/4, you're not alone. We're all learning.↵
↵
What’s one thing that helped you most when you were just starting out?
