Hey Codeforces :D

I’m Harmit H_a_r_M_i_t Khimani, and I’ve been steadily working on my competitive programming skills with the goal of reaching Candidate Master. I’ve made decent progress so far, but I know there’s still a long way to go, so I’d really appreciate any insights to help me level up faster.

Here’s my profile if you’d like to take a look.

I’m looking for advice and would love feedback on a few things:

• Speed and Accuracy Under Pressure:

  • How do you stay fast and accurate when time is tight and pressure kicks in?

• Consistency in Contests:

  • How do you deal with rating ups and downs? What helped you stay steady?

• Solving 1600–2000 Rated Problems:

  • What’s your approach to consistently crack problems in this range?
  • Any particular patterns or problem types that helped you improve?

• Underrated Resources / Practice Methods:

  • Any lesser-known tools, routines, or platforms that helped boost your performance?

• Balancing Competitive Programming with Placements:

  • I’m in my 3rd year and our placements will start in 3–4 months. So I also need to manage time for LeetCode, CS core subjects, and improving communication skills.
  • How do you balance all this without losing consistency?

A Few More Things:

• Mindset and Motivation:

  • Progress can feel slow at times. Some contests just don’t go your way. How do you keep yourself motivated during slumps?

• Post-Contest Analysis:

  • What’s your method to review performances and learn from them effectively?

• Practice Routine:

  • Do you follow a fixed schedule, use virtual contests, or focus on topics one at a time?
  • How do you simulate real contest pressure while practicing?

And lastly, I know recently there’s been a lot of talk around cheating and unfair means during contests. Personally, I want to go the honest way and improve based on my own hard work and efforts. I believe that’s what makes the grind truly worth it, even if the growth takes a bit more time.

Whether you're a Candidate Master, Master, or someone who's been through this grind, your insights can help a lot — not just me, but many others on a similar journey. Special mention to meetsarvan, neel__18, who are also grinding towards the same goal.

Thanks in advance for your time and advice. Let’s all keep getting better together! Feel free to drop your thoughts or DM me — I’m always up to chat and learn.

— H_a_r_M_i_t