Weekly Rhythm

The Canonical Week · 10–15 Hours Personal Time

This is the operating system of the entire 9 months. One week, repeated 39 times with phase-specific content swapped in. The structure doesn’t change. The content does. If you only read one file in 00_command/ every week, make it this one.

Constraint reality: Full-time job at Zoho. ~8h/day, 5 days/week. Commute or not. Variable energy. 10–15 hours of personal time per week for DSA. That’s the budget. This rhythm spends it correctly.

The Canonical Week

Monday — Theory (1.5h)

Time: Evening, after dinner. 8:30–10:00 PM. Block type: New concept intake.

  • Read the current phase file (one file from the active phase folder).

  • Take handwritten notes or type into lab notebook.

  • No LeetCode yet. No code. Concept only.

  • If a derivation or algorithm is in the file, trace it by hand once.

Why evening Monday: Your brain has had the weekend to consolidate. Monday evening is the best knowledge-intake window of the week. Don’t waste it on problems — prime the pump.

What to do if Monday is a bad day: Swap with Tuesday. Never skip both.

Tuesday — Implementation (1.5h)

Time: Evening. 8:30–10:00 PM. Block type: Concept → code.

  • Implement the concept from Monday from scratch. No looking at the file unless genuinely stuck.

  • Write it in your editor. Run it. Break it on edge cases. Fix it.

  • Log in lab notebook: predict behavior → run → reconcile.

What most people do wrong: They re-read the file on Tuesday instead of implementing. Re-reading is not implementation. Close the file. Open the editor. If you can’t implement without the file, you didn’t understand the concept — which is exactly the information you needed.

Wednesday — LeetCode Sprint (2h)

Time: Evening. 8:00–10:00 PM. Block type: Problem solving under mild time pressure.

  • 2–3 problems in the current phase’s topic area.

  • Set a 25-minute timer per problem (Pomodoro unit).

  • Attempt without AI. If stuck after 25 minutes: look at the hints section of the problem (not the solution).

  • If stuck after hint: look at the approach section only (not the code).

  • After solving: write down the pattern in 1 sentence in lab notebook.

AI rule (non-negotiable): During Wednesday problem-solving, use a browser profile with no AI access. This is documented in 99_pre_mortem/01_the_ai_crutch.md. It is structural, not willpower.

If Wednesday has a work deadline: Move to Thursday. Compress to 1 problem minimum.

Thursday — Review + Weak Spot (1.5h)

Time: Evening. 8:30–10:00 PM. Block type: Targeted practice on identified gaps.

  • Review Wednesday’s problems: did you use the right pattern? Was your complexity correct?

  • Pick one problem you got wrong or needed hints on. Solve it again from scratch. No reference.

  • If no weak spot: solve one problem one difficulty level above your comfort zone.

What this block is for: Wednesday gives you data. Thursday processes it. Without Thursday, Wednesday is just content consumption.

Friday — Rest or Light Review (0–1h)

Time: Whenever. Block type: Optional. Protect this.

  • If you feel good: 30 minutes of easy problems or reading ahead.

  • If you’re tired: fully off. No guilt. See 13_discipline/08_health_burnout.md.

  • Friday is never a heavy block. If you’re planning a 2h Friday session, something went wrong earlier in the week.

Saturday — Deep Work Block (3–4h)

Time: Morning preferred. 9:00 AM–1:00 PM. Block type: The week’s primary learning session.

This is the most important block of the week. Protect it before anything else.

Structure:

  • Hour 1: Advance to next concept file in current phase. Read fully, trace examples.

  • Hour 2: Implement the concept from scratch.

  • Hour 1.5: Problem sprint (3–4 problems, timed).

  • Hour 0.5: Lab notebook update + sprint deliverable check.

Saturday rules:

  • Phone in another room or DND mode.

  • No AI for problem solving.

  • If family obligation takes Saturday morning: move the block to Saturday evening. If Saturday is fully consumed: Sunday absorbs it (see below).

  • Do not split Saturday’s 3–4h block into 1h chunks across multiple days. Depth requires uninterrupted time.

Sunday — Portfolio or Contest Day (2–2.5h)

Time: Afternoon. 3:00–5:30 PM. Block type: Long-form output or competitive practice.

In Phase 0–3 (Aug–Jan): Portfolio work.

  • Write or update a portfolio rung artifact.

  • Publish a post, commit code to the DS library, update the complexity audit.

  • This is the output block. The week’s input (Mon–Sat) serves this.

In Phase 4–6 (Jan–Apr): Contest practice.

  • Run a Codeforces virtual contest (past Div. 3 or Div. 2, 2 hours).

  • Upsolve any problems not solved during the virtual.

  • In S18–S19: actual rated contests replace virtuals.

Sunday rules:

  • If Saturday was missed: Sunday absorbs Saturday’s deep work. Portfolio/contest shifts to next week.

  • Never try to do both Saturday and Sunday deep work on Sunday. Pick one.

Weekly Hour Budget

Day

Block

Hours

Monday

Theory

1.5

Tuesday

Implementation

1.5

Wednesday

LeetCode Sprint

2.0

Thursday

Review + Weak Spot

1.5

Friday

Rest / Light

0–1

Saturday

Deep Work

3–4

Sunday

Portfolio / Contest

2–2.5

Total

11.5–14h

This hits the 10–15h personal time target at the upper-middle band. It is sustainable for 9 months. It is not a death march.

Slippage Rules

🟢 Green week: Hit all 5 core blocks (Mon/Tue/Wed/Thu/Sat). Portfolio or contest on Sunday. 🟡 Yellow week: Hit 4 of 5 core blocks. Miss one. Log it. Don’t panic. 🔴 Red week: Hit fewer than 3 core blocks. Log root cause in slippage log. Read 99_pre_mortem/ if two red weeks in a row.

Rule: One red week in a sprint is recoverable. Two consecutive red weeks trigger a mini-retro. Three: Reset Protocol.

India-Specific Notes

Power outages / internet instability: Keep 2–3 problems downloaded or noted offline. The 04_daily_practice.md file has the offline practice protocol.

Family obligations (weekends): Saturday morning is the first casualty of family events. The rhythm is designed so Sunday can absorb it. Protect Sunday as the non-negotiable fallback.

Zoho deadline weeks: Compress Wednesday to 1 problem. Drop Thursday. Keep Saturday. The minimum viable week is: 1 concept read + 1 implementation + 2 problems + 1 portfolio action. That’s 5–6 hours and it maintains momentum.

Energy management in summer (April): South Indian summer heat degrades sleep. If sleep quality drops, reduce Thursday and Friday to fully optional. Guard Saturday morning by starting at 7:30 AM before heat peaks.

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