Hi guys,

I have been doing CP for a few months now (this is an alt acc, as Im quite unsure of the response I'd get). My rating seems to be increasing overall in CodeForces, CodeChef and Atcoder. However, the past few months of practicing has really made me question my interest for CP. Although I have fun solving the problems most of the time, there are times when the question is too frustrating or complex. I have been trying to up-solve and learn different algorithms, but there just seems to be so many different things. I've seen many comments and blogs which say you should do CP only if you are interested and I understand all that. In fact this is what really bothers me. I have fun doing competitive programming contests, but doing it on a daily/regular basis burns me out. CP is not completely relevant to my field of study/interests, and Im kinda doing it for the knowledge/experience/recognition. I don't aim to be a LGM or even a GM. My aim is just to get good at programming to apply it to what Im interested in (AI & robotics), where I need to write fast algorithms to do the job (similar to CP). The COVID situation has put everybody at home, so I wanted to start with something productive. Soon I'll be starting my graduate degree, and I'm not sure if I can continue my CP journey. So I'm here looking for advice from people who were/are in the same boat as me, and also people who do CP on a regular basis, and if possible, those that have reached the top. What keeps/kept you going, how regularly do you practice, and how relevant is CP to your field of study?