Hi everyone, it's been some time since I updated this website. I've been busy with casual work and reorganizing how I approach LeetCode problems. I realized that my current approach wasn't yielding much progress, so I decided to change it. Everyone has their own learning style, and I found that some of the intense guidelines out there just weren’t my style—they stressed me out.
I've been reading Feel-Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal since I'm a big fan of his work. I'm only through the first three chapters, but he emphasizes that people perform and work less efficiently when they're stressed, and that feeling good leads to success.
Too Much Pressure
I was putting too much pressure on myself by trying to do everything at once:
- Applying for at least 5 jobs every day
- Solving at least 8 LeetCode problems daily
- Joining different networking events
- Completing at least one project per week
- Contributing to volunteer work
- Joining datathons
- Upskilling through online courses
The list just kept growing—I even thought about learning statistics, bioinformatics, research paper writing, cloud computing, and more. Instead of making progress, I overwhelmed myself and became stressed. I even learned about Notion and how to better organize myself.
Mindset Shift
Another problem was that I kept beating myself up for not being able to
solve even easy LeetCode questions. Some people say,
Remember the pain of failure so you won’t forget it,
but this
approach had a negative impact on me. Instead of motivating me, it
shattered my confidence, and I even felt overwhelmed by the guilt of
looking at solutions. The fear of failure made me reluctant to attempt
problems.
Now, I'm changing my mindset. I'm not giving up on LeetCode, but I want to make it fun. I accept that I'm not good at it yet—and that's okay. I’m allowing myself to learn by first looking at solutions and gradually moving towards solving problems independently. Like a baby learning to walk, it’s okay to start with support, fall, and use "crutches" again if needed.
New Study Plan
My new approach is to focus on one topic per week, such as:
- Breadth-First Search (this week)
- Depth-First Search (next week)
I'll also revisit at least one previously solved question every day to reinforce learning through spaced repetition.
That's all for now! I'll update this website more often and share my progress with you all. Hope you're all doing well. Remember to take care of yourself and have fun!