Oftentimes, the hardest part about getting better at USACO and competitive programming in general is motivation. Today, I will discuss ways to be more motivated when practicing.
The importance of motivation
Motivation, despite being intangible, is the most important force in competitive programming, or anything in life for that matter. In fact, it is the main barrier that separates the better coders from the worse. While algorithmic knowledge is very important, the main distinguishing factor between being able to solve a problem and being stuck is problem-solving skills, and problem-solving skills can only be developed through repeated practice.
However, it is much easier said than done. Burnout is very real, and can hit you at any moment. Even if you have become disciplined enough to practice for 10 hours every day for a whole year, the very next day you could want to quit. Thus, being motivated, and maintaining motivation is the most important thing to being successful as a competitive programmer.
Competitive Programming Sites Outside of USACO
The first way to improve your overall motivation is to compete on competitive programming websites aside from USACO. As you already know, there is a long gap between March and December, where there are zero USACO contests. This dry spell during the summer and the first semester of your school year can kill your motivation, as it will feel like you are practicing for nothing, with no tangible results to measure your progress or to show for.
The way you can remedy this is by competing on other competitive programming sites, such as Codeforces, LeetCode, CodeChef, AtCoder, etc. Within these four sites, there are almost 4 contests a week that you can work with. Furthermore, each one has its own rating system that can assist you in measuring your progress. If you compete on these sites regularly, you can not only measure your progress, but you can also experience the excitement of seeing yourself grow; seeing your rating graph steadily increase gives me a sense of accomplishment like nothing else.
Contests are also much more interesting than normal practice. When doing a contest, time will fly by, and two hours will feel like nothing. Also, if you are competing under time pressure, you’ll tend to automatically work harder towards solving a problem. It still counts as practice as well, since you are doing problems and coding them up to completion.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of contests is developing your contest skills and speed. All programming sites outside of USACO tend to emphasize speed, as they must cater to programmers of all levels, so the problems can greatly vary. Thus, solving the easier problems faster becomes more and more important. As you practice solving easier problems faster, you’ll be able to translate those skills into solving harder and harder problems faster as well. Furthermore, you’ll be able to simulate the pressure that you face in a USACO contest, and become more comfortable and confident when faced with that pressure when the season rolls around.
Virtual contests
Taking the fact that contests are more interesting to the extreme, you can do virtual contests. Under the right conditions, taking a virtual contest can put the same time pressure on you as actual contests, pushing you to practice harder and solve more problems. By doing virtual contests, you can grind through 5 problems without even knowing it, passively increasing both your problem-solving and contest skills even more than before.
The site that I would recommend most to do virtual contests in is Codeforces. It has an incredible built-in virtual contest feature, and there have been so many contests on Codeforces that you’ll never run out of contests to do a virtual one on. Furthermore, they have contests for all divisions; if you are bronze, I’d recommend doing division 3 contests. For those in silver and gold, I’d recommend doing division 2 contests, and for those in platinum, I’d recommend doing division 1.
To participate in a virtual contest on Codeforces, click on the “Virtual Participation”, choose a time, and get started!
What about if you are unable to take virtual contests seriously, knowing in the back of your mind that they will never matter as much as a normal contest? I cannot deny that virtual contests will never have the feel of a real contest, but there are many ways you can simulate the real thing. First, try doing virtual contests with friends, and competing against them. This can motivate all of you to improve. Furthermore, there is a Discord bot that allows you to do “rated” virtual contests. The bot is called the TLE bot, which you can read about here. You can either set this bot up on your own server, or you can join the AC server to use it (the invite link is in the same link). With this bot, you have a virtual rating that changes every time you do a virtual contest, and you can use that as motivation to grind out virtual contests.
An example of how to use the TLE bot’s virtual rating system.
The best part about virtual contests is that you can do them on your own time, and whenever you want! Codeforces contests or contests from the other sites can be at awkward times sometimes, so it is understandable if you can’t make it to all of them. As such, virtual contests are perhaps the best replacement.
Think of virtual contests and normal contests as stepping stones for USACO. Use virtual contests to constantly improve problem-solving and contest skills between the live Codeforces contests, and use the live Codeforces contests to improve between the USACO seasons.
To start, I’d recommend doing virtual contests of the Codeforces Educational contests. They provide the most learning value, and are very fun and concise!
Doing harder problems
As you may have heard many times, the sweet spot for the difficulty of problems you should practice is just above your skill level. You should be doing problems that you are unable to solve 50% of the time, and when you do solve them, it should have taken more than an hour. When you finish such a problem after a long, hard battle, the sense of accomplishment it brings is unlike anything else. For starters, after you finish a live contest or virtual contest, always try to upsolve (solving the contest problems after the contest) the problem right after the last one that you were able to solve.
On the right side of Codeforces’ Problemset tab, you can filter problems for difficulty. A common strategy is to find a difficulty that is just above your skill level, and once you master it, move up in difficulty.
However, if you choose problems that you can solve 50% of the time, the half of the time when you can’t solve it, it will kill your motivation a bit. To remedy this, utilize editorials/solutions. If you find yourself losing motivation fast after not being able to solve a problem, simply go to the editorial. Make sure you take note of why you weren’t able to make the correct observation to solve the problem, so that doing problems where you need to look at the solution isn’t a waste of time. Even after you look at the solution, try to code it up yourself. If you find yourself having to look at the solution too often, simply move down in difficulty for problems you are practicing.
Skip Tedious Tasks if you Must
Imagine this: you’ve been looking at a Codeforces problem for two hours, and after a long fight, you finally give up and look at the editorial. You realize that you missed one simple observation that would’ve pushed the solution you had in mind to completion. Now, as me and many others have advised, you should implement this anyway. However, for this particular problem, you know the implementation is incredibly long and unnecessarily tedious, and you can’t think of any reasons implementing this would help you in any way.
Skip it! Even though it will never not be helpful to implement a solution that you’ve looked at, skip it if the implementation is too tedious. As long as you realize and take note of why you were unable to think of the observation or solution yourself, there is no need to spend an excessive amount of time on implementing the solution. It is better that you lose out on a bit of learning but still have the motivation to practice than procrastinate practicing simply because the next step in your practice is really tedious.
It doesn’t have to be after you’ve looked at a solution. Even if you are able to think of the right solution to a problem, and have confirmed that the solution is right, you can rarely skip the implementation phase if you know it is long and will demotivate you greatly.
Of course, skip implementations in moderation. These tedious problems WILL come up in a USACO contest, and you cannot skip them then. Thus, practice these implementations most of the time, but if you are feeling particularly demotivated by the dread of having to implement a really annoying solution, you can skip it once in a while.
Friendly Competition
Friendly competition with peers can be one of the biggest motivators. I’ll share with you a story about none other than Riya, and her journey through the ranks of the USACO. This story underscores the pivotal role that friendly competition plays in not only enhancing one's coding skills but also in staying motivated. In her transformation from a Bronze-level coder to reaching the prestigious Platinum tier, Riya harnessed the spirit of a fierce rivalry to fuel her ambition and resilience. Let's explore how adopting a similar mindset could be beneficial for anyone in the competitive programming landscape. To watch the full video about her story, check out the video here.
Embracing Friendly Rivalry
Riya's initial encounter with friendly competition came when she observed a peer—whom we'll call Jane—progressing to the Silver division of USACO. Despite Riya's initial placement in Bronze, she recognized that she had just as much potential as Jane. This realization ignited Riya's competitive spirit. Jane's achievement wasn't a source of envy but a beacon of possibility for Riya. She intensified her study regimen and soon matched Jane's accomplishment by ascending to Silver.
The Impact of Belief
The story took a twist when, at one point, Riya found herself complacent, resulting in her stalling in the Silver division while Jane advanced to Gold. Seeing Jane conquer challenges encouraged Riya to revisit problems she had previously deemed too daunting. It wasn't about a placebo effect; it was a shift in mindset. The act of believing one can solve a problem often makes the crucial difference between giving up and persisting through difficulties.
From Gold to Platinum
Motivated by this newfound perspective, Riya not only progressed to Gold but continued her upward trajectory to Platinum. Her journey exemplified that a year of consistent effort and learning from silent, friendly competition can yield remarkable results. It was not only the adoption of better study techniques but also the motivational push provided by Jane's successes that spurred Riya on.
Broadening the Competitive Network
Upon reaching Platinum, Riya began to cultivate a wider circle of competitors. She engaged with fellow USACO participants, particularly her classmates, and used their progress as her own benchmarks. This friendly rivalry encouraged everyone involved to strive for greater heights, illustrating that collective success often stems from individual contributions.
Lessons from Teaching
Riya's experiences at the USACO camp, where she mentored students, further validated the value of friendly competition. She observed her students using each other's achievements as motivation, thus confirming that such competition is instrumental in overcoming more challenging problems.
Harnessing the Competitive Edge: Strategies for Success
The Power of Positivity
It is essential to keep the 'friendly' aspect in competition. The goal is not to outshine others but to use their progress as constructive motivation for self-improvement.
Expanding the Circle
Relying on a single person for motivation can be limiting. Riya advocates for having a network of competitors to ensure consistent inspiration and drive.
Community Engagement
Finding a supportive community can be invaluable. Platforms like the USACO forums or competitive programming Discords can connect you with motivated individuals.
Observing and Emulating
Monitoring and emulating the practice routines of active problem solvers on platforms like Codeforces can provide insight into effective study habits.
Collaborative Growth
Riya recommends finding a coding buddy, as mutual assistance in problem-solving can accelerate learning and progress.
Structured Learning Environments
Joining a class or group specific to your USACO division can provide a structured and competitive learning environment.
Takeaway
Friendly competition has the potential to make the solitary journey of programming feel like a shared adventure, full of camaraderie and mutual achievement. Riya's story is a testament to the fact that seeing others excel should inspire, not intimidate. This approach to competition not only spurs personal growth but also contributes to a healthier, more collaborative coding culture.
As Riya's experiences illustrate, leveraging friendly competition is a strategy that extends beyond mere rivalry. It's about embracing a mindset where others' successes catalyze our own efforts to excel. For those inspired by Riya's journey, remember that the essence of competition lies not in surpassing others but in continuously surpassing our own past performances.
Take Breaks
As with any activity, to avoid burnout, take breaks! Breaks can mean multiple things. After you’ve done a virtual contest, take a break! After you’ve practiced hard from Monday to Saturday, take Sunday off! After you have advanced a division as a result of hard work from the past few months, take a week off! These breaks can serve as a great reset for your mental state, and can bring you back better than ever.
However, the most important aspect of a break is what comes after it. It’s easy to take a 1-hour break that becomes taking the day off, which then becomes taking the week off, and soon, you realize that you’re not even doing USACO anymore. Take breaks in moderation, and learn the discipline of coming back after your break. It’s perfectly fine to take a break after hard work, but it is not fine to completely stop after an accomplishment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, sustaining motivation for competitive programming and USACO hinges on a blend of deliberate practice and strategic pacing. Participating in live contests on platforms like Codeforces hones your real-time problem-solving skills, while virtual contests solidify your abilities in a controlled setting. Pushing through tougher problems expands your expertise and resilience, essential for USACO’s challenging environment.
Friendly competition acts as a motivator, turning peer achievements into personal milestones to strive for. Yet, it's equally important to intersperse these efforts with breaks, allowing for mental rejuvenation and a fresh perspective on complex challenges.
By integrating these practices—targeted contests, skill-appropriate challenges, the encouragement of peers, and necessary downtime—you craft a balanced approach to competitive programming. This balance not only keeps your passion for coding alight but also ensures that the journey is as rewarding as the achievements it leads to. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced coder, remember that true motivation thrives in recognizing both the journey itself and the incremental progress made along the way.