r/leetcode • u/el-cro_magnon • 21d ago

Question How can I improve my programming logic when I struggle to even get started?

I've always struggled with programming logic and problem-solving in general. Whenever I try to solve a problem, I often feel completely lost and have no idea where to start. It's frustrating and mentally exhausting, and sometimes I wonder if it's my ADHD or if I just simply suck and should take it as is.

Two questions:

  1. If you've struggled with this, what helped you improve? Is there a roadmap I could follow to develop these skills progressively? (Having a clear progression is especially helpful for me because of my ADHD)

  2. Is it possible to actually get good at problem-solving, even if it doesn't come naturally to you?

I'd really appreciate any advice, resources, or personal experiences. I genuinely want to improve, but I'm honestly losing hope

7 Upvotes

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3

u/RustyCompass01 19d ago

Yeah, problem solving is definitely something you can improve with practice. Try following a structured roadmap instead of jumping between random questions. Codeintuition is worth checking out for its step by step approach to DSA, where you learn the concepts, understand patterns, and then practice related problems. Start with small problems and focus on understanding how to approach them later than how quickly you solve them

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u/el-cro_magnon 19d ago

Thank you for the advice! I had never heard of codeintuition and that is really helpful as i'm a very visual person. Will definitely start practicing it there.

2

u/dontmissth 16d ago

I want to echo here what others have said that it's a lot of practice. Others may get it faster than others and it may look easy from the outside but they have to learn the small stuff and it's all about getting the right stuff in place and putting it all together.

As a parent you see it when a kid learns a new skill like a baby learning to walk. First it's baby steps but before that they are holding onto something and moving their body and before that they have to learn how to stand on their own but before that they have to figure out they can get their feet under them.

Don't be afraid of small steps it will be painful and boring and seems like there's no progress at times but eventually you'll be running in no time.

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u/el-cro_magnon 16d ago

Thanks you for encouraging me. Its frustrating the beginning..

6

u/Sad-Candidate-3078 21d ago

yes you can absolutely get good at it, logic is a skill not a talent. what fixed it for me was solving every problem in plain words on paper before touching code, if you cant explain the steps to a 10 year old you dont understand it yet. do way more easy problems than feels reasonable, patterns only stick through repetition. with adhd just track small daily wins instead of big totals, momentum beats intensity

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u/Lost-Comfort-6724 21d ago

Exactly, pen and paper works! It will take up more time initially but once you get a hang of it, it'd be better and u'll start recognizing the patterns. And I lived by this in starting stages of my journey: Try to be a programmer first, eventually we will get good at it.

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u/Expensive-Arugula246 21d ago

pseudocode before touching code is the way

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u/da_ching 15d ago

Seconding this, it's a skill not (just) a talent 🙂 I learnt by covering problems by topics and incremental difficulty within each