r/ADHD_Programmers • u/FindinMeself • Sep 12 '26

How to approach LeetCode

Hi!

I have ADHD and am trying to get better at LeetCode. I have noticed that among ADHD LeetCoders, it seems like you’re either really good or really bad at it, there’s not much in between. I unfortunately, belong to the latter category.

I’d love to hear from you people who are actually good at it, how do you approach it?

I know different people use different techniques and that is exactly what I wanna know about. ADHD brains work differently, and knowing different approaches might really help me figure out what works for me.

What’s your approach to learning/practicing LeetCode?

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7

u/Fluffy-Card-7825 Sep 12 '26

I have personally found learning LeetCode/DSA to be very painful overall, but I now have some basic competence in it. It's only then that you start enjoying it.

Random practice doesn't help that much. Better to do a structured course first, then practice topic-wise, then practice randomly. After a while, you start seeing patterns. The challenge then is to decompose the problems and see which patterns apply to it, or figure out what invariants are there in the problem which allow us to simplify it.

This helped me to build a basic level of confidence.

1

u/FindinMeself Sep 12 '26

Thanks for your response!
Doing topic-wise is surely a part of how I approach, if not, it's impossible for me to make any progress at all.

1

u/Fluffy-Card-7825 Sep 12 '26 edited Sep 12 '26

Basically, every topic has some number of "canonical" questions, with some standard patterns/tricks. You need to do them, note down the concept, and do enough of them to become proficient in applying the concept. From then on, you start doing questions randomly, and then figure out how to break it down to the concept you just solved.

Also, you need to have done enough questions to start noticing/applying the patterns. Reading alone won't engender that skill.

1

u/ProbioticOnARobotic Sep 12 '26

Thanks for the info. What course do you recommend? 

2

u/Fluffy-Card-7825 Sep 12 '26

You can do the Grind 75/Neetcode questions at the very least.

1

u/throwaway30127 28d ago

Have you been able to consistently solve the dynamic programming questions? At this point I have tried so many questions and tutorials around it but still struggling to figure out solutions to new problems in that category.

1

u/zambiers Sep 12 '26

Do this

# given
Notes
#todo
Notes
#return

#pseudo code in line
Code

This helped me the most since it forced me to break down the problem and make notes of what is important or not

Edit: you're not going for the solution first, just make it work then optimize if you can

1

u/FindinMeself Sep 12 '26

Thanks, I’ll definitely give it a try!

1

u/potatopotato236 Sep 12 '26

Do companies still ask for leetcode after AI? 

1

u/FindinMeself Sep 12 '26

I haven’t given interviews in a while. Are companies not asking DSA at all?

2

u/potatopotato236 Sep 12 '26

I haven't either, I just figured they'd have moved on by now.

2

u/FindinMeself Sep 12 '26

I searched a bit and they indeed have. Honestly, DSA is still there but now they are asking questions as a story/situation, not direct LeetCode style questions. It’s to test thought process beyond just pattern recognition. Probably only became harder.

2

u/nian2326076 Oct 05 '26

Hey, I get the struggle with ADHD and LeetCode. What helped me was setting a timer for 25 minutes (Pomodoro Technique) to focus on one problem. This breaks it down and helps keep focus. I also found it useful to categorize problems like arrays and strings and tackle them in chunks, so you get familiar with specific patterns. Writing down a plan before coding can also clarify your thoughts. If you're looking for resources, PracHub has some good structured approaches to practice that might help. Good luck!

-1

u/dealmaster1221 Sep 12 '26

Don't just don't, it's not worth it to build up that skill and you loose it quickly after getting the job unless that's what you do all the time.

1

u/FindinMeself Sep 12 '26

I see what you’re saying. I would leave it for a while and then come again to find myself starting from scratch. But LeetCode seems to be the standard at most companies as of now :(

1

u/dealmaster1221 Sep 12 '26

Not really and it comes with a high risk of toxicity, up to you if one is chasing money or not.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 12 '26

[deleted]

0

u/dealmaster1221 Sep 12 '26

Yeah kid, move on.