TillDusk's blog

How should I manage time for Problem Solving?
By TillDusk, history, 3 years ago, In English

I am currently studying Computer Science at a university in Bangladesh. I learnt coding for the first time in my life in my 2nd year. After I got interested in competitive programming, I saw how difficult it was for me to manage time for courses at my university. My semester continues for 2.5 months where I get 23 classes at maximum. There is a very short time for me to learn a lot from these courses. Besides, I also had an interest in AI. But, I am finding it very difficult to cope up with the pressure. I have to take all the courses seriously as it has a lot to do with scholarship. What would be the best way to manage all these things? The courses in computer science are really interesting(which I want to focus on side by side). Is it possible to make progress in competitive programming with all the facts I have mentioned above? How do you guys manage time for problem solving?(because it takes a lot of time for me)

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3 years ago, # |
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i'm also from bd ! from senior contestants what i have learnt -> 1) keeping good academic result as well as great in cp really tough unless he/she had a olympiad background ! 2) regular contestant try to keep cg above 3 without any repeat/fails ! 3) immense study only before exam,cts ! 4) regular attending classes , make notes ! 5) & rest of the time use for solving problems !

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    3 years ago, # ^ |
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    It's tough only if you are trying to be a world finalist or something, else NO.

    But yeah, people who are really good at cp, generally don't maintain high cg not because it's tough, but because they are not interested.

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      3 years ago, # ^ |
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      not every university maintain same standard in bd ! it may harder to get cg 3 from university A than 3.7 from university B !

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        3 years ago, # ^ |
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        And also in university A, even with cg 3.5 you may be top 5 of your dept while in university B you might not even be in top 20. It's relative, and it doesn't make much difference.

        In your comment you said regular contestants do immense study before exams — that's the point, they could spread their study all through the semester, studying 1.5-2 hour each day and get a lot more study hours, but they are not interested/motivated enough. And vice versa for the academic geeks who want to be good at cp.

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3 years ago, # |
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It is always better to concentrate more on one thing rather than multiprocessing. Then only you can see the results.

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    3 years ago, # ^ |
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    So I shouldn't focus on AI and my courses? And rather focus on problem solving for now ?

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3 years ago, # |
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From my point of view, managing time for CP is no different to managing time for any other activity, say some hobby as photography. If you solve $$$2$$$ good quality problems for your level a day, in $$$3$$$ years = $$$1195$$$ days = $$$2390$$$ problems, I think you would be at a pretty damn good state.

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3 years ago, # |
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In my experience, the more time you put in the better you get. So the only way you don't get better at all is if you don't put in any time at all. (I could be wrong, though)

That aside, CP is an activity and you partition your time like you do with all activities. So you should just find how much time you need to spend for things that are required of you, and make a decision for how much time you are OK with spending from the time left over.

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3 years ago, # |
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If you love something, you'll find a way to get it done.

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3 years ago, # |
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Welcome to adult live. Just get as much done as possible.

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