1. Rating Isn’t Everything

Many beginners (including me) are obsessed over rating, but the real goal should be skill improvement. A higher rating is just a side effect of getting better at problem-solving.

2. The Real Game Starts After the Contest

Most learning happens after a contest, not during it. Upsolving is where you bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

3. Debugging is a Skill

Competitive programming isn't just about solving problems—it’s about solving them correctly. Learning to debug fast (without relying too much on IDEs) is an underrated skill.

4. Problem Tags Can Trick You

Relying too much on problem tags can slow down your growth. If you always filter problems by tags, you might miss out on developing raw problem-solving skills.

5. Never Trust Sample Cases Blindly

Many problems have weak sample cases that don’t expose hidden edge cases. If your solution passes the samples but fails on submission, try these:

Test with all zeros, all ones, or sorted arrays Try minimum and maximum constraints

Conclusion

There’s a lot more to Codeforces than just solving problems. These small realizations have helped me a lot, and I hope they help you too. What are some unwritten rules you’ve learned? Let me know in the comments!