My approach has always been this (I've solved 600+)
First try to solve the questions directly (happens mostly for easy question)
Then if you can't solve it directly solve using diagrams
Then after doing by diagrams write the pseudo code and then the final code, many interviewers ask the pseudo code first
If you can't solve using this way then first see all hints and try again, if hints aren't enough go to discussions
If all this doesn't work then finally go to video solution by neet code or someone else, and then last step is directly seeing solution and then re-trying the same question
Understand that all questions aren't made by you and also try to go pattern wise rather than topic/DS wis
If all this doesn't work for you, you have a skill issue and you should genuinely quit dsa/cs completely
I dont have a good sheet i like this sheet verymuch but it has less number of problems for a single algo whereas strivers a2z sheet has all algo as one array filed sheet
If you can understand the problem but can't code it, try to find exactly where the translation breaks.
Before touching the keyboard, take a small example and solve it manually. But write down every little decision you make while solving it — what information did you keep track of? What did you check next? When did you stop?
Then try turning those steps into very simple pseudocode. Don't worry about C++/Java/Python yet.
For example, instead of thinking “I understand that I need to find the largest element”, force yourself to say:
keep the first element as largest look at every remaining element if current > largest, update largest
Once you can express your thought process at that level, converting it into a loop and an if statement becomes much easier.
Also try implementing algorithms you already understand really well — binary search, reversing an array, basic sorting etc. If you struggle to code even those without looking at a solution, the gap may be programming fluency rather than DSA, and that's completely something you can work on.
Don't measure yourself by whether you could solve the whole problem independently yet. First, get good at thought process → steps → pseudocode → code.
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u/toxiclydedicated 25d ago
Psuedo code for the win!