Hello everyone!

Are you wondering whether you're actually improving in Codeforces? It's a nearly universal question among the Codeforces community. Unfortunately, it is a question prone to bias and denial. Let's clear that up with three simple steps!

Step 1: Look at your Codeforces graph. All of the history is there -- you may have been participating for many years, but let's disregard that for now. Consider only a participation period of at most 365 days.

Step 2: Zoom in on that period. Examine it. But our human nature tends to err, and we may want to justify our effort. Say no more to this bias by FLIPPING the plot vertically!

Step 3: Does it look like your graph is decreasing? Congratulations, you have been improving over the past year! Otherwise, you probably have been improving in other regards :)

Let's see some examples:

Example 1: pwned over the 2021-2022 school year

Yes, improving! That when when I began training seriously for competitive programming.

Example 2: pwned over the 2022-2023 school year

Nope, not improving. Perhaps I shifted my focus to informatics olympiads that year, and I lost out on speed!

Example 3: pwned over the 2023-2024 school year

This is a bit more subtle, but I have been improving! A true testament to ThemeCPs.

Based on my experience, this three-step method is significantly less biased than simply looking at a single graph!

Let's look at my graph:

As seen here, it's clear when one is improving, but it's less clear whether one is not improving. For instance, considering the period from mid-2022 to mid-2023, it's tempting to believe I have been improving based solely on a graph with a time range from mid-2018 to mid-2023. But, applying the three steps adjusts my perspective and showcases the reality!

I hope this blog helps you better determine whether you are improving in Codeforces!

Please upvote this post if you found it interesting! Comment below your ways of reducing bias when training, and I'd love to hear your ways of keeping a clear vision of your path towards CF success!