I recently completed 30 consecutive days of code on Leetcode and hit 600 questions starting from 500 questions before the start of the year.
Here is my journey:
About me:
I am a 3rd year (Junior) Computer Science engineering student from India, currently looking for an internship.
Why
I was distracted for the past year trying different non-coding related interests and only did coding or solving leetcode problems on a semi-regular basis. I cracked coding tests in some companies but failed all coding/technical interviews.
Recently, I read a book called "So Good they can't Ignore You" by Cal Newport and realised that satisfaction and happiness come from solving problems and building rare and valuable skills. So, I wish to develop problem-solving skills and become so good that I can't be ignored.
Plan
My plan was simple, show up and do 'something'.
I had already completed 501 questions at the start of the 30 days, but about 370 of them were easy, about 120 medium and a few hard questions. I knew that I had to start solving medium questions if I wanted to improve.
Also, I planned to give weekly and biweekly contests on the site.
I struggled with graph, dynamic programming, tree and other related problems and did not even know many topics given on the site. I planned on learning these topics and solving problems related to them.
What I learnt
Do not underestimate the power that comes from just showing up and doing 'something'. I would often sit at my laptop and tell myself to open the website and solve just one problem. Then I would start understanding it and eventually solve it. This would motivate me to continue to do more problems, and that one problem solved would lead to many problems solved.
Motivation is not just the cause of action; it is also its effect.
Also, there is a power in not wanting to break a streak. Once you get past the first week or so, not wanting to break the streak is a powerful motivation.
Did I improve? ... Yes.
"We overestimate what we can do in a day and underestimate what we can do in a month" - paraphrasing Bill Gates.
When I look back on these 30 days, I am surprised why I did not start this early. I have improved my problem-solving skills drastically over these 30 days. I often surprised myself by solving problems that I would not be able to even start 30 days ago.
Progress is like compound interest. It takes time to get it going at first, but it grows at a staggering rate once it does.
I would quote Simon Sinek here,
"Going to the gym for 9 hours will not get into shape; going to the gym for 20 minutes for a month will."
Now what?
I am pleased and satisfied. I will continue to code and solve problems every day. Currently, my goal is to reach 1000 questions and a rating of 2000 on Leetcode in the next 5 months. Through my own negligence, I did not get an internship in the last internship season. I am preparing for the subsequent placement season from June to August.
Thanks for reading. I hope you got something out of it. Keep Coding!