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How Do You Grow in Competitive Programming? A Beginner's Question
Автор kamaljeet_01, история, 6 часов назад, По-английски

Hello, Codeforces community!

I’m new here and just starting my journey in competitive programming (CP). Over the past few weeks, I’ve been exploring problems and trying to grasp the basics. However, as a beginner, I feel like I could use some guidance from this amazing community.

I know CP is a long and challenging road, but it’s also super exciting to see myself grow (even if it’s just by solving easier problems for now). That’s why I wanted to reach out and ask all of you:

How do you grow in CP? Here are some specific questions I’ve been thinking about:
1. How did you get started? Were there any resources, strategies, or routines that worked for you as a beginner?
2. How do you decide which problems to solve? Do you stick to specific ratings, topics, or random practice?
3. What’s the best way to overcome problem-solving roadblocks? Sometimes I spend hours on a problem and still feel stuck. How do you approach this?
4. How do you stay consistent and motivated? CP can feel overwhelming, especially when progress seems slow. How do you keep going?
5. How important are contests vs. regular practice? Should I focus more on solving problems or participating in live contests?

I’d love to hear any tips, personal stories, or advice from your CP journeys. Whether you’re just starting out like me or you’re a seasoned competitor, your input will be incredibly valuable and motivating for me (and others like me who are new to CP).

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  1. My first resource was the lessons prepared by COI (Cyprus Olympiad in Informatics) which are mostly in Greek, so I'm not sure what to suggest. USACO guide is a great resource, so that would be a good place to start, I guess. You should also solve problems on CSES, especially to practice specific topics.
  2. See my comment here
  3. If you spend a lot of time on a problem and still don't know how to approach it, consider reading the editorial. If it has hints, just read them one by one until you reach something you hadn't thought of on your own. Otherwise, start reading the editorial slowly and stop when you feel like you can solve the rest on your own. Don't be discouraged when you get stuck — this happens to everyone, and reading the editorial will also help you improve.
  4. Progress always takes time, and that's fine. Take a break whenever you need to, and don't worry about consistency. As long as you enjoy CP, you'll be motivated to practice.
  5. Just enter as many contests as you can and practice whenever you feel like it. This will balance the time you spend on each of them, so you don't need to focus on one of the two.

Of course, everyone learns and practices differently, but these are some general guidelines that I think work for most beginners. I hope you find them helpful!

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