How to structure a focused 60 minute practice session week by week for DSA interview
To structure a focused 60-minute DSA practice session week by week, here is a breakdown that maximizes learning within the time constraint, balancing problem-solving, review, and concept reinforcement.
Basic Structure of a 60-Minute Practice Session
5 minutes: Quick warm-up or review (revisit yesterday’s problems, key concepts, or quick coding drills)
35-40 minutes: Focused problem solving (1-2 problems depending on difficulty)
10-15 minutes: Solution analysis and optimization (compare with best solutions, analyze time/space complexity)
5-10 minutes: Reflect and note down key takeaways and tricky points for follow-up
Week-by-Week Focus Guide for 6 Weeks
Week 1: Arrays & Strings
Day 1-3: Easy array problems (max/min, sum, frequency count)
Day 4-6: Medium array problems (two-pointers, sliding window)
Day 7: Review, optimize, and revisit hard spots
Week 2: Linked Lists & Stacks/Queues
Day 1-2: Basic linked list problems (reverse, detect cycle)
Day 3-5: Stacks and queues (implementation, next greater element)
Day 6-7: Medium linked list and stack problems, review
Week 3: Trees (Binary Trees & BSTs)
Day 1-3: Tree traversals and BFS/DFS
Day 4-5: BST search, insert, delete
Day 6-7: Hard tree problems and review
Week 4: Graphs & Hashing
Day 1-3: Graph traversal (BFS, DFS), cycle detection
Day 4-5: Hashing problems (anagrams, subarrays)
Day 6-7: Review and mixed graph problems
Week 5: Sorting & Searching + Bit Manipulation
Day 1-3: Binary search variants and sorting concepts
Day 4-5: Bit manipulation puzzles
Day 6-7: Review sorting/searching combined problems
Week 6: Dynamic Programming (DP)
Day 1-3: Basic DP (climbing stairs, Fibonacci)
Day 4-5: Medium DP (coin change, LIS)
Day 6-7: Hard DP and review
Suggestions for Maximizing Efficiency
Use coding platforms (LeetCode, HackerRank) with hints/solution explanations available.
When stuck, spend 5-10 minutes reviewing hints or editorial to avoid frustration.
Keep a dedicated notebook or document of insights, common patterns, and learned tricks.
On review days, redo at least one problem from the week without looking at previous solutions to strengthen memory.
By following this focused 60-minute per session schedule, you ensure steady, manageable progress while deepening problem-solving skills critical for DSA interviews.