How to become a better coder?

Are you talking about improving at DSA interviews or writing code on the job? The two are in fact, quite different.

For DSA interviews

• If you are brand new to DSA: Put in a lot of volume and complete questions from Neetcode 150 or a similar curated playlist of common leetcode problems.
• If you already have completed Neetcode/etc: Complete the problems from Neetcode but this time try to internalize the pattern and see if you can modify each question slightly to incorporate a different technique for the same pattern
  • Example: Everyone knows that you can use binary search to search for an element in an array. Did you know however that you can use binary search to split an array into two halves and search for the minimum in the right half or a maximum in the left half? It's important that you really internalize how these patterns can be used differently than what they appear on the surface.

For coding on the job: Here's a hack to learn how to code better ASAP

1. Write a lot of code and get it reviewed by peers. Try to internalize all the feedback they give you and ask questions if necessary
2. Look through all of the code reviews for the past year and see what feedback teammates are getting on their code. Bonus points for following a trusted senior engineer and seeing what comments they specifically write
3. Try to learn a bit of system design on the side to better understand how the code fits into the overall system. I would read design docs internally and if not, check out a few problems from HelloInterview

Are you always afraid when you're walking down any stairs that you're going to fall and get injured? Is your mind working in overdrive to figure out how to put one foot in front another?

(Assuming your body is perfectly fine) No you don't. Becauae you've spent so much time naturally walking and occassionally using stairs that you just do it.

It's the same thing with coding: just write more code. If you are actively trying to improve at coding, you will start spend less energy and effort writing code. With one less thing overworking your brain, you'll have more mental bandwith to focus on other things that need attention.

Something for you to figure out is if the issue is your coding ability or your confidence and handling of anxiety. I have a feeling it's the latter.

If your code is generally well-received in code review, your technical skills are probably fine. If your pull requests are getting torn apart instead, then I have just the course for you: Level Up Your Code Quality As A Software Engineer

When it comes to interview anxiety, it's a tough problem to solve because it largely requires a mindset shift, which takes time. What I can do though is teach you what that correct mindset should be, so you can start adjusting your thinking accordingly - Check out the lesson here from our overall job searching course: Having The Right Mentality

If you have time, I recommend just going through the entire course: Ace Your Tech Interview And Get A Job As A Software Engineer

It sounds like the main problem is interview coding, which, like Ammar says, is a different skill because it's more about general algorithmic problem solving rather than solving a domain specific problem. Plus, you have to deal with how to handle the anxiety of someone watching you code with there being high stakes at play.

Do you remember what you felt when you were going through the interview? It's possible that your mind just immediately raced to the conclusion that you can't solve the problem as soon as you heard the question, so you mentally tapped out early. Can you try to reframe the interview as a collaboration between you and the interviewer to solve a problem together. Think more about finding the truth to the riddle rather than being judged by the interview.

I would actually try to do the opposite of you did, where you want to embrace that you're currently freezing, so you actually want to do more interviews until you can rid yourself of the anxiety.

Always feeling I am not up to the mark.

I recommend reading the book called Mindset by Carol Dweck. It'll help you develop a growth mindset where you are more empowered that you can improve on your current situation by putting in more work.