In my high school journey, I was pretty good at computer science and I decided to try to participate in the Italian computer science Olympiad,
at the first competition I was pretty confident in myself because it was supposed to be a logical competition and I had been training a lot (I had solved all the problems from the previous competitions),
so I didn't talk to many people about the fact that I was going to do a competition because I didn't give too much importance to the race.
In the race i was average anxious, but it not influenced my performance, so I reached 1st place with a good advantage from the other olympics,
I was really happy and while waiting for the next race all I could think about was winning it so I talked with my friends and family about it, so I tried to study hard,
maybe too hard so i fell into multple burnout, i worked too hard, and not so smart.
I would study a lot for a period, then fall into burnout and in a week or so I would recover, in this way I would do nothing other than study little by taking long breaks.
The competition day arrived and i was really anxious but i was also pretty sure to win, I tried to manage anxiety and i solved the first 2 of 4 problems in less than 40 minutes.
I had 2 hours and 20 minutes left to solve 2 problems, I tried to solve the third but it was hard, i tried a smart solution in the rush of anxiety and adrenaline without considering a constraint,
so i wasted 1 hour and 30 minutes.
I had 50 minutes left for the last problem, thinking about it now, it wasn't difficult, but caught up in anxiety over the little time left, I written a solution that
has not passed all the testcases.
I reached only the 2th place, I was angry with myself, but also happy because i learned so much from a lose, so I considered it a win.
- Do not have the confidence to win
Okay, it may sound strange, you have to believe in yourself, but without placing the certainty that you will succeed, you have to think that you may not be able to do that particular thing,
this will help you in always pushing yourself deep in your study and without giving yourself and others false hope and in case of defeat you will not suffer it too much.
- Find the right study/break balance
If you don't do breaks, you will fall in burnout, and you won't be able to do nothing for a while, I recommend you the pomodoro technique,
it consist in 25 minutes of deep study and 5 minute of break.
This is a very useful method for studying smart, deep and hard without falling in burnout.
- Do not look at the time
No matter if you're studying, if you're working, if you're competing, you don't have to look at the time, it will distract you and make you anxious and hasty.
- Breathe and take your time
If you are doing an exam, if you are in a competition, if you have to do something difficult and anxiety is distracting you, breathe with your diaphragm and take your time,
take a little break and start again what you were doing quietly, you will notice an improvement on your brainpower.
- Study deep
Studying deep is one of the most important things, but is also a very large point, so I will recommend you a book called "Deep Work" by Cal Newport.
Michele Filadelfia 19/07/22