What If You Hate LeetCode?

What if you're grinding LeetCode, and hating it? What to do if it's not fun? Here are some concrete ideas.

1. Use the programming language you enjoy. Don't go for "the best language for tech interviews" (it does not exist anyways). Go with the one you like. It can either be the language you know best (you'll enjoy it because it's familiar) or the one you are actively learning (fun because it's new).

2. Batch problems by topic. Our brains hate context switching -- so, if you constantly switch from sliding windows to graphs to recursion, your brain gets fried faster. Let your brain keep the mental models and reinforce them. Spend a week focusing on strings. Then, move on to arrays. Then, linked lists.

3. Try co-solving problems with a friend. Sit down together (or connect via Discord) and start solving the same problem, separately. Give yourselves 20-30 minutes. Then, connect and see how far each of you got!

4. Use AI as your tutor. When you learn problem solving, do not ask AI to solve the problem for you! Instead, figure out your own solution and ask AI for feedback (not fixes!).

5. And as a bonus, another cool use of AI (yes, we're not avoiding AI, not at all!) -- record your voice as you're thinking about the problem, let AI transcribe it and give you feedback on your thinking process. It will be fun and insightful to read, and it actually prepares you for the interview (remember: no one cares about your code; what matters is your thinking).

And don't forget -- memorizing solutions is never the goal. LeetCode is supposed to be fun (see Tip 64) :-)