How to Get Good at Leetcode?
LeetCode is one of the best platforms for improving problem-solving skills and preparing for technical interviews. However, mastering it requires a structured approach, consistent practice, and the right mindset.
1. Set Clear Goals
Before you start solving problems, define your objectives:
✅ Are you preparing for a job interview? – Focus on company-tagged questions.
✅ Do you want to improve problem-solving skills? – Solve a variety of problems across categories.
✅ Are you aiming for competitive programming? – Work on dynamic programming, graph theory, and recursion.
2. Learn the Basics First
Before jumping into LeetCode, ensure you understand the fundamental concepts:
🔹 Data Structures:
✔ Arrays & Strings
✔ Linked Lists
✔ Stacks & Queues
✔ HashMaps & HashSets
✔ Trees & Graphs
✔ Heaps & Priority Queues
✔ Tries
🔹 Algorithms:
✔ Sorting (Merge Sort, Quick Sort, Counting Sort)
✔ Recursion & Backtracking
✔ Binary Search
✔ Breadth-First Search (BFS) & Depth-First Search (DFS)
✔ Dynamic Programming (DP)
✔ Greedy Algorithms
✔ Bit Manipulation
💡 How to learn these?
- Take an Algorithms and Data Structures course (CS50, MIT OCW, Udemy).
- Read “Grokking Algorithms” or “Cracking the Coding Interview”.
- Implement common data structures from scratch.
3. Follow a Structured LeetCode Plan
Don’t randomly pick problems. Follow a systematic roadmap like this:
Step 1: Easy Problems (50-100 Problems) – 1-2 Months
Start with easy problems to build confidence and master the basics.
- Arrays & Strings: Two Sum, Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock, Valid Parentheses.
- Linked Lists: Reverse Linked List, Merge Two Sorted Lists.
- HashMaps & Sets: Contains Duplicate, Intersection of Two Arrays.
🔹 Goal: Solve at least 50-100 easy problems before moving to medium ones.
Step 2: Medium Problems (100-200 Problems) – 2-4 Months
Once comfortable, move to medium problems.
- Sliding Window: Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters.
- Binary Search: Search in Rotated Sorted Array.
- Recursion & Backtracking: Permutations, Subsets.
- Dynamic Programming: Climbing Stairs, House Robber.
🔹 Goal: Solve at least 100+ medium problems and understand patterns.
Step 3: Hard Problems (50-100 Problems) – 3-6 Months
After mastering medium problems, start tackling hard problems.
- Graphs & Trees: Word Ladder, Shortest Path in Weighted Graph.
- Dynamic Programming: Edit Distance, Longest Increasing Subsequence.
- Advanced Algorithms: Dijkstra’s Algorithm, Segment Trees.
🔹 Goal: Solve 50-100 hard problems, especially company-specific ones.
4. Learn Problem-Solving Patterns
Many problems follow common patterns. Mastering these will help you recognize problems instantly.
Common Patterns in LeetCode Problems:
✔ Sliding Window – “Find the longest/shortest subarray…”
✔ Two Pointers – “Find a pair that sums to X…”
✔ Fast & Slow Pointers – “Detect cycles in a linked list…”
✔ Merge Intervals – “Find overlapping intervals…”
✔ Backtracking – “Find all possible combinations…”
✔ Dynamic Programming (DP) – “Find the number of ways to…”
✔ Binary Search – “Find an element in a sorted array…”
🔹 How to practice?
- Neetcode’s YouTube channel explains these patterns in detail.
- Blind 75 (top 75 essential LeetCode problems) is a great starting point.
- LeetCode’s Explore section has structured guides.
5. Learn to Debug and Optimize
🔹 Common debugging techniques:
- Print variables at key points in your code.
- Use Python Tutor to visualize your code execution.
- Dry run your solution with a small input set.
🔹 Optimization tips:
- Think about time and space complexity using Big-O notation.
- If a brute-force solution is O(N²), try O(N log N) or O(N).
- Use memoization to improve recursion.
6. Practice Consistently (Daily or Weekly Schedule)
Consistency is key to improving on LeetCode. Here’s a suggested schedule:
✔ 1-2 problems per day (1-2 hours) – For gradual improvement.
✔ 5-10 problems per week – For steady growth.
✔ 30+ problems per week – If you’re aggressively preparing for interviews.
🔹 Set realistic goals – Don’t burn out by overdoing it.
7. Study Solutions & Read Discussions
If you’re stuck on a problem, don’t just look at the solution immediately. Instead:
- Think about edge cases and try different approaches.
- If stuck for more than 30-45 minutes, check LeetCode discussions for hints.
- Study multiple solutions – brute force, optimized, and best approach.
💡 Tip: Explain your solution out loud (rubber duck debugging) to reinforce learning.
8. Join LeetCode Contests & Community
🔹 Why? Competing improves speed and accuracy.
- LeetCode offers biweekly & weekly contests.
- Discuss problems in the LeetCode forum.
- Join Discord communities or Reddit’s r/leetcode.
9. Focus on Company-Specific Questions
If preparing for interviews, prioritize company-tagged questions:
✔ Amazon, Google, Microsoft – Trees, Graphs, Dynamic Programming.
✔ Facebook, Uber, Airbnb – Backtracking, Sliding Window, System Design.
✔ Tesla, Palantir – Bit Manipulation, Greedy, DP.
🔹 Use LeetCode’s premium version for curated company problems.
10. Track Progress & Stay Motivated
📊 Use a progress tracker like:
- LeetCode Streak
- Notion or Google Sheets
- LeetCode Daily Challenge
🎯 Set milestones like:
✅ Solving 50 easy problems → 100 medium problems → 50 hard problems.
✅ Solving 300+ problems before an interview.
🚀 Stay consistent and enjoy the learning process!
Final Verdict: How Long Does It Take to Get Good at LeetCode?
- Beginner (0-50 problems): 1-2 months
- Intermediate (100-300 problems): 3-6 months
- Advanced (500+ problems): 6-12 months
💡 The key to success? Practice smart, not just hard! Start with easy problems, learn patterns, and consistently solve problems.
Want a personalized roadmap? Let me know your level, and I’ll create one for you! 🚀