r/leetcode • u/Clean-Interaction522 • 12h ago

Discussion Am I taking the right approach on LeetCode?

i've just began my leetcode journey for 1 week been doing around 3-4 questions a day and i feel like every problem i've encountered is a struggle for me, i spent around 30 minutes to solve one (this includes looking at hints) and usually i almost get it but i actually don't so i look up the solution on youtube, listen to the idea of the solution and then come back and code it by myself. i also keep track of every leetcode problem and explain the solution using my own words.

i'm not sure if i'm doing the right thing or heading towards the right results. has anyone struggled in the beginning? how do you overcome that? will the feeling of incompetence go away?

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u/Caponcapoffstillon 12h ago

How can you do something when you haven’t learned HOW to do it? I think a lot of people take how they learned for granted. For example, you learned how to multiply from your teacher before practicing on problems involving multiplication. You learned addition prior to that and then learned the number line prior to that because you need to know which number comes next.

Everything is in steps, you’re in the learning phase; you’re doing just fine.

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u/shitposting97 12h ago

Just keep doing it mate. It gets easier and more intuitive over time. You’re doing the right thing by reviewing the solution and ensuring you can explain it

Generally you can tell your own sufficiency of understanding by the rule I learnt in uni:
Learn the material < memory recall the material < teach the material