The first step of the FAST Method is to find an initial brute force recursive solution. This is something that you need to be able to do on your own for the FAST Method to be of any use to you. If you don’t know how to implement a linked list, then it doesn’t matter how many tricks you learn for solving linked list problems. your first step should be to dedicate yourself to learning all of the fundamental data structures and algorithms.either the <a href="https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-006-introduction-to-algorithms-fall-2011/index.htm">MIT</a> (Python) or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mYfZeHtdNc&list=PLxc4gS-_A5VDXUIOPkJkwQKYiT2T1t0I8">Princeton</a>

Develop a strong foundation

The key here is simply to get more practice coding, and ideally do so in an environment where you are getting good feedback on your code. One of the best ways to do this is by contributing to open source projects. Not only is this a great way to show off your experience, but you will get the benefit of thorough code reviews and learning how to work in a production environment. If you’re new to working with open source, <a href="http://www.firsttimersonly.com/">First Timers Only</a> is a great resource for those looking to get started.

Get more coding experience

[0:00–0:05] Get settled & fully understand the problem. Work through example inputs.[0:05–0:10] Find a <a href="https://www.byte-by-byte.com/brute-force/">brute force solution</a>.No coding, just talk & draw pictures. If stuck, try by hand and translate process into an algorithm.[0:10–0:15] Optimize your solution. Take these 5 minutes to figure out the absolute best solution you can in this period of time.[0:15–0:35] Code up your solution. Even if it’s not optimal, it is better.[0:35–0:50] Test your code and fix any issues.[0:50–1:00] Questions for your interviewer.

Strategically approach each interview question

The key here is that while in some cases there may be one “best” solution, there are way more problems where you can make different trade-offs and you have to decide which ones to make. As an interviewer, I love to see candidates who weigh the different possibilities. You should always consider the space and time complexity of every solution you come up with. This gives you an objective way to evaluate which solutions are better than others and helps make a way more informed decision.

Consider different possible solutions

I’ll tell you that finding a brute force solution is 1000% better than not finding a solution at all. And if you start by immediately trying to find the optimal solution, it is easy to get stuck and end up without a complete solution by the end of the interview.This accomplishes two important things:<ol><li>It gives you a fallback plan. </li><li>It helps you clarify the problem. </li></ol>

Start with the brute force solution

Often, people dive right into writing code as soon, until you’ve fully worked out the solution. Writing any more code than just for thinking is a critical mistake for two reasons.<ol><li> if you want to move lines of code around, you have to either erase and rewrite them or draw arrows going all over the place.</li><li>issue with starting to code right off the bat is that it can lock you into a specific way of thinking about the problem. </li></ol>

Plan out the full solution before you code

Your thought process is non-linear when you’re solving problems, so you may have thought you needed a HashMap because of some other line of thinking that you have since abandoned. This is why it is so critical to stop every so often, especially if you start doing something that seems challenging, and look back at the big picture of what you’re trying to do. Whenever you’re doing something that seems unnecessarily complicated, look at your end goal and see if you can simplify your approach.

Keep the big picture in mind

I love asking complicated interview problems. If a problem involves several different components, you as the interviewer get such great insights into how a candidate manages their thinking when there is so much to deal with all at once. The key to successfully solving these problems is to use abstraction. At its core, this means breaking out your code into smaller functions with more specific purposes.

Use abstraction to your advantage

I find that many students forget to apply the best practices they know from real-world coding to their interviews. They assume that coding interviews are totally different, so the things they’d do normally don’t apply. One of the things people forget all of the time is to test their interview solution. But would you ever commit code in the real world without testing it thoroughly first?

Test your code

While test interviews has merits, there is one fatal flaw: Companies are notoriously bad at giving you any meaningful feedback. “So,” you might say, “Who cares? I can just judge my own performance.” Well yes, that’s true, but it can be really hard to judge yourself. You don’t know what criteria your interviewer is looking for (just getting an optimal solution to one problem may not cut it). And if you’re struggling to succeed, chances are there’s something that you’re not seeing.

Get good feedback

These list down great points on how to approach a coding interview

by Sam Gavis-Hughson How to make progress while studying for coding interviews Getting stuck is never fun. Especially when you’re working really hard. And yet, I find that this happens to people preparing for coding interviews all the time. You put in consistent work. You’ve gone through hundreds of practice

career

Career

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

computerscience

Computer Science

softwareengineering

Software Engineering

How to make progress while studying for coding interviews

<ul><li>Wake Up Early </li><li>Recall Your Dreams</li><li>Make Your Bed</li><li>Drink A Tall Glass of Water</li><li>Take Vitamins/Probiotics</li><li>Meditate for 20 minutes/breathing exercises</li><li>1–2 minutes of movement</li><li>Take a cold shower</li><li>Do Your Normal Routine (brush teeth, do hair etc)</li><li>Make a tea</li><li>Write in Journal</li><li>Write “feel better” list</li><li>Write “to be” list</li><li>Read 20–30 minutes</li><li>Make Smoothie</li><li>Start Your Day</li></ul>

The morning routine

I loved how this morning routine had a huge focus on physical health (and arguably mental health with all of the journaling).Ensuring that I was hydrated every morning and moving my body was an excellent way to start the day, but the real kicker was the cold shower.

Items physically beneficial

Ok, so what made the big difference for me and led me to making extra money?The journaling and meditation.As corny as it sounds, taking that time every morning to zero in on my goals and dreams, what I was grateful for, and what I aspired for, really helped me to set my intentions for the day.

What made the financial difference

A couple years ago, a video went viral on Youtube called The “1 Billion Dollar Morning Routine”. It was made in partnership with Jim Kwik who is a multi-million dollar “brain coach” and American…

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

I Tried The Billionaire’s Morning Routine and Made $3000

<ul><li>Eating a balanced breakfast that’s high in protein and healthy fats (avocado omelettes anyone?)</li><li>Drinking at least one glass of water.</li><li>Taking care of your hygiene.</li><li>Making your bed and cleaning your room.</li></ul>

1. Craft your dream morning routine

My days start off with a routine “stand up” meeting at 9:30 am. After stand up I can be ready to get around 2 hours of productive work where I’m researching, coding, or pair programming with teammates.When I finish that block of focused time, I get my ass off the computer and make something to eat.

2. Get off the screen

With a lack of commute and minimal distractions, you should be finding your day filled with at least a few extra hours of time. Whatever you do with it, don’t waste your newfound freedom. Many people including myself have taken to starting up new side hustles or projects to compliment their primary salary.Maybe you want to spend extra time with your family, or you want to get in shape, or maybe even start your own side business. Remote work has given us the freedom to choose.

3. Take advantage of the extra time

If you’re going to be working at home all day, you should take the effort to make the space what you want it to be. A few items I strongly recommend for your own remote work space include:<ul><li>An adjustable desk</li><li>A high quality, posture supporting chair</li><li>Quality speakers and/or headphones</li><li>A nice monitor with eye care in mind</li><li>Random crap that makes you happy — for me it’s a Yoda lamp I got as a gift and a few house plants (oh, and a space heater because my basement get’s freezing in the winter time)</li></ul>

4. Take care of little things

Remote work is here to stay. It doesn’t take long to find headlines about the benefits of remote work or how top tech companies are leading the way. Spotify, Google and Microsoft are a few of many…

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Productivity

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Remote Work

4 Daily Practices For Productive Remote Work

To-do lists allow us to get distracted by the easy or urgent tasks at the expense of the important work. We get pulled off track by distraction — the kind we succumb to without realizing it’s happening. We run faster and faster in the name of getting things done, without realizing we’re headed in the wrong direction. Then when we finally realize we didn’t allocate the necessary time to work on the most important tasks, we tell ourselves, it’s okay. I crossed five things off my list. I’m good.

Distraction vs Traction

To free yourself from the tyranny of the to-do list, you must break the habit of looking at your list to tell you what to do. So what’s the alternative? <a href="https://www.nirandfar.com/schedule-maker/">Build a weekly schedule </a>.

Have a weekly schedule

Say you bought a new phone, but at the end of each day, without fail, the operating system crashed. Would you keep using it? Of course not. You’d take the phone back to the store, complain, and get a…

The Case Against To-Do Lists (and What to Use Instead)

Are you really, really good at your day job?If the answer is “yes,” supercharge your income by turning it into a consulting service.

Side Hustle as consulting

Create an Etsy store, connect it to a print-on-demand provider, then upload as many t-shirt designs as you can come up with.

Side Hustle as etsy tshirt designer

First, create an Instagram account.Next, study what’s trending in pop culture. Study which memes are popular.Then, create new memes by fusing what’s trending with what’s popular. Post on Instagram, rinse, repeat.

Side Hustle as memer

And don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with any of these. In fact, starting a blog just might make you more money than anything you’ll ever do. But it’s 2020, and the internet has evolved…

3 Profitable Side Hustles No One’s Talking About

In a meeting that involves one or more people who are angry, having you talk your mouth off doesn’t build momentum. Once you listen for long enough, you’ll hear the problem on repeat and then when the time is right, all you need to do is clearly articulate it to the room and leave some silence for people to contemplate it.

 You’ll learn more by listening



Last year I was in a meeting with a very upset client of mine. Walking into their brand new office, with woodgrain finish, brand new coffee machine and views of the Grand Prix track was daunting. The…

How to make progress while studying for coding interviews

I Tried The Billionaire’s Morning Routine and Made $3000

4 Daily Practices For Productive Remote Work

The Case Against To-Do Lists (and What to Use Instead)

3 Profitable Side Hustles No One’s Talking About

Sumit Kumar