Bro why does this keep happening I just want to reach CM :(

how do i stop dropping every time im close to cm??????

Hello all,

A couple months ago, I decided to do the junior CCC and that didn't go so well. (I got 58/75, didn't get anything for J5)

Since then, I improved a bit and now I can get some J5 questions down. I would like to get some advice as to how to most effectively prepare for the CCC/CCO, as I only have about 9 months before next CCC. My goal is that next year, I can do well enough on the Senior CCC to be able to qualify for CCO (and maybe IOI but I don't think I can in the span of 9 months).

However, I also have some questions:

• How closely related is CCC/CCO to Codeforces contests? I ask this because in the CCC/CCO, the time it takes you to solve a question doesn't affect how many points you get, but it definitely does in Codeforces. This makes me think that speed is a much more important factor in Codeforces, which is why I am hesitant on relying on Codeforces contests to prepare.

• Should I try to improve rating on CF if my end goal is to do well on CCC? Would doing CF contests help me prepare for CCC? Should I participate in contests or just spend my time learning topics that would be used in CCC, like dp, graph theory, etc?

• How should I practice for a computing competition? Currently, I am going through this spreadsheet and just going through all of the problems in order, and I'd just use the editorial when stuck. Is this a good way of practicing? I've seen advice where you should just solve random problems that are just above your rating and search up concepts that you come across while doing these problems. Would that strategy be more effective than the one I'm using right now? Or does it not even matter and I should just shut up and just go keep solving problems?

UPD 03/16/2022: after two years, i finally made cco!!!!! I ended up not following the spreadsheet and instead just did a mix of random Codeforces problems, USACO (using USACO guide) and past senior CCC problems on dmoj.

Any advice would be appreciated, and thank you for taking the time to read this blog post.