How Long Does It Take to Complete Grind 75 for Beginners? Realistic Timeline Expectations

You've heard about Grind 75. You know it's 75 carefully selected LeetCode problems designed to prepare you for coding interviews.

You're ready to start. But first, you need to answer one critical question:

"How long will this actually take me?"

You search online. You find:

• Someone claiming they finished in 2 weeks
• Another person saying it took 4 months
• Reddit threads with "it depends" (unhelpful)
• No clear framework for estimating YOUR timeline

This uncertainty is dangerous. If you underestimate, you'll burn out. If you overestimate, you'll procrastinate. Either way, you won't finish.

This guide will give you a realistic, skill-based framework for estimating how long Grind 75 will take YOU—based on your current experience level, available hours, and learning style.

No more guessing. Just honest timelines.

TL;DR

• The Core Truth: Grind 75 completion time varies dramatically (2 weeks to 6+ months) based on four factors: coding experience, problem-solving skill, available hours/week, and learning approach (speed vs. mastery)
• Why Realistic Estimates Matter: Underestimating causes burnout when progress feels "too slow," while overestimating enables procrastination; both prevent completion
• Skill-Based Framework: Three experience tiers with different timelines: Complete Beginners (4-6 months, 10-15 hrs/week), Intermediate Coders (2-3 months, 8-12 hrs/week), Experienced Engineers (3-6 weeks, 6-10 hrs/week)
• Common Beginner Mistake: Comparing yourself to "I finished in 2 weeks" posts without considering that person's 5 years of competitive programming background
• What You'll Learn: How to calibrate your personal timeline using diagnostic tests, pacing strategies to avoid burnout, and how tools like DSA learning path and progress tracking help maintain realistic momentum without comparison anxiety

The Four Factors That Determine Your Timeline

Before we give specific estimates, understand what affects completion time.

Factor 1: Your Current Coding Experience

Complete Beginner (Never solved LeetCode before)

• New to algorithms and data structures
• Don't recognize patterns yet
• Need to learn fundamentals alongside problem-solving

Intermediate Coder (Solved 20-50 LeetCode problems)

• Familiar with basic patterns (two pointers, hash maps)
• Can solve Easy without hints ~70% of the time
• Struggling with Medium problems

Experienced Engineer (Solved 100+ problems or strong CS background)

• Recognize most common patterns instantly
• Can solve Medium problems independently
• Need Grind 75 for structured review, not initial learning

Factor 2: Available Hours Per Week

Casual (3-5 hours/week)

• Working full-time, limited free time
• Can only practice on weekends or 1 hour on weeknights

Moderate (8-12 hours/week)

• Dedicated daily practice (1-2 hours/day)
• Weekends for deeper study

Intensive (20+ hours/week)

• Full-time interview prep (between jobs, boot camp)
• Multiple hours daily

Factor 3: Your Learning Approach

Speed-Focused (Quantity over mastery)

• Solve problem once, move on
• Look at solutions quickly if stuck
• Goal: Complete all 75 problems fast

Mastery-Focused (Depth over breadth)

• Solve problem, understand deeply, do variations
• Use spaced repetition and review
• Goal: Retain patterns long-term

Factor 4: Problem-Solving Skill

Pattern Recognition Speed: How fast do you identify "This is a sliding window problem"?

Implementation Speed: Once you know the approach, how fast can you code it?

Debugging Skill: When your solution fails, how long to find the bug?

Realistic Timeline Estimates by Experience Level

Here are honest timelines based on thousands of learners.

Timeline 1: Complete Beginners

Profile:

• Little to no LeetCode experience
• May have basic programming knowledge but not DSA
• Need to learn patterns from scratch

Realistic Timeline: 4-6 months at 10-15 hours/week

Breakdown:

• Weeks 1-4: Struggle with every problem, lots of solution reading (5-10 problems)
• Weeks 5-8: Start recognizing patterns, faster on Easy (15-20 problems completed)
• Weeks 9-16: Medium problems become solvable with effort (40-50 total completed)
• Weeks 17-24: Finishing the list, revisiting hard ones (75 complete + reviews)

Why this long?

• You're not just solving problems—you're learning DSA concepts
• Each new pattern requires multiple exposures to internalize
• You'll need to review earlier problems as you forget

Pacing: ~3-4 problems/week early on, ~5-7/week later as you improve

Timeline 2: Intermediate Coders

Profile:

• Solved 20-50 LeetCode already
• Familiar with basic patterns
• Can solve Easy independently most of the time

Realistic Timeline: 2-3 months at 8-12 hours/week

Breakdown:

• Weeks 1-2: Quick through Easy problems you recognize (15-20 problems)
• Weeks 3-6: Grinding Medium problems, learning new patterns (40-45 total)
• Weeks 7-10: Finishing harder Mediums, reviewing mistakes (70 total)
• Weeks 11-12: Final problems + comprehensive review (75 complete)

Why this duration?

• You know fundamentals, but need to fill pattern gaps
• Medium problems still require significant time per problem
• Reviews are necessary to prevent forgetting

Pacing: ~6-8 problems/week consistently

Timeline 3: Experienced Engineers

Profile:

• Solved 100+ problems or strong CS background
• Recognize patterns immediately
• Using Grind 75 for structured review before interviews

Realistic Timeline: 3-6 weeks at 6-10 hours/week

Breakdown:

• Week 1: Blitz through Easy/Early Medium (20-25 problems)
• Week 2-3: Medium problems that require thought (50-55 total)
• Week 4-5: Harder problems, pattern variations (70-75 total)
• Week 6: Review weak areas, practice speed

Why this fast?

• Pattern recognition is instant
• Implementation is fast from experience
• Reviews are quick because retention is strong

Pacing: ~12-15 problems/week

How to Calibrate Your Personal Timeline

Don't guess. Test yourself.

The 5-Problem Diagnostic Test

Do this before estimating your timeline:

Pick 5 Grind 75 problems (1 Easy, 3 Medium, 1 Medium-Hard):

1. Two Sum (Easy)
2. Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock (Easy-Medium)
3. Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters (Medium)
4. 3Sum (Medium)
5. LRU Cache (Medium-Hard)

Time yourself solving these without hints.

Results:

Time-Per-Problem Indicator

Track how long each diagnostic problem took:

Easy problems:

• < 15 min → Experienced
• 15-30 min → Intermediate
• 30+ min → Beginner

Medium problems:

• < 30 min → Experienced
• 30-60 min → Intermediate
• 60+ min or needed hints → Beginner

Pacing Strategies to Hit Your Timeline

Once you know your timeline, here's how to pace yourself.

The Weekly Sprint Structure

Rule: Solve 20% of your weekly target early in the week, not at the end.

Why: If you plan 6 problems/week but save them for Sunday, you'll burn out. Do 2 Monday-Tuesday. This creates momentum.

The 70/20/10 Rule

How to allocate your study time:

• 70%: Active problem solving
• 20%: Reviewing previously solved problems
• 10%: Learning new concepts/patterns

Example for 10 hours/week:

• 7 hours solving new problems
• 2 hours reviewing old problems (spaced repetition)
• 1 hour watching pattern explanations or reading editorials

The "Stuck Policy"

Set a time limit based on your level:

Beginners: 30 minutes stuck = look at hints
Intermediate: 45 minutes stuck = look at hints
Experienced: 60 minutes stuck = look at hints

Why this matters: Struggling is good. Suffering is not. Stuck too long → frustration → burnout.

Common Timeline Killers (And How to Avoid Them)

Killer 1: Comparing to Outliers

The trap: Someone posts "I finished Grind 75 in 10 days!"

The reality: They probably:

• Had competitive programming background
• Were full-time unemployed (8 hours/day)
• Skipped deep learning for speed

The fix: Ignore outliers. Compare to your diagnostic test, not Reddit posts.

Killer 2: Perfectionism Paralysis

The trap: Spending 4 hours on one problem to find the absolute optimal solution

The reality: Grind 75 is about coverage, not perfection. An accepted O(n log n) when O(n) exists is fine.

The fix: Time-box each problem. Move on. You can always revisit.

Killer 3: No Review Schedule

The trap: Solve all 75 once, never review, forget everything

The reality: Without spaced repetition, you'll forget 80% within a month

The fix: Schedule reviews at 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks after solving

Killer 4: Burnout from Overcommitment

The trap: "I'll do 3 hours every single day" → miss one day → guilt → quit

The reality: Consistency > intensity. 1 hour/day sustained beats 3 hours/day for 2 weeks then quitting.

The fix: Set a minimum viable target (e.g., "1 problem every 2 days, no exceptions"). Anything more is bonus.

Adjusting Your Timeline Mid-Journey

Your initial estimate might be wrong. That's okay. Here's how to adapt.

Leading Indicators: You're Ahead of Schedule

Signs:

• Solving problems faster than estimated
• Recognizing patterns instantly
• Rarely need hints

Action: Don't speed up too much. Deepen your learning instead (solve variations, explain to others).

Lagging Indicators: You're Behind Schedule

Signs:

• Every problem takes longer than expected
• Still stuck on Easy problems after 2 weeks
• Constantly need hints

Action:

1. Don't panic. Adjust timeline, don't abandon.
2. Diagnose why: Missing fundamentals? Too ambitious pacing?
3. Slow down if needed. Better to finish in 6 months than burn out in 1 month and quit.

Tools for Timeline Management

Progress Tracking

Don't rely on memory. Track:

• Problems solved per week
• Time spent per problem
• Review schedule

Simple spreadsheet:

Automated Support

Tools like LeetCopilot can help maintain realistic pacing by providing structured hints when you're stuck (preventing multi-hour suffering), generating automatic review schedules based on spaced repetition principles, and tracking pattern mastery to show real progress beyond problem count.

This removes comparison anxiety ("am I too slow?") by focusing on YOUR growth trajectory, not others'.

FAQ

What if I'm way behind my estimated timeline?

It's fine. Adjust your estimate. Finishing in 6 months is infinitely better than quitting in month 2. What matters is completing the list, not the speed.

Should I skip problems I can't solve?

No. Mark them, move on, come back in 1 week. Often a fresh perspective + new patterns learned make previously impossible problems solvable.

Can I finish faster by practicing more hours?

Yes, but diminishing returns. 20 hours/week = faster completion. 40 hours/week ≠ 2x faster (you'll burn out). Optimal is 8-15 hours/week for most people.

What if I have an interview in 4 weeks but need 3 months?

Prioritize. Do the first 30-40 problems (covers most common patterns). Better to know 40 deeply than 75 superficially.

Is it okay to use solutions if I'm stuck?

Yes, strategically. After genuine effort (30-60 min), look at hints/solutions. Understand deeply, then recode from memory. This is learning, not cheating.

Conclusion

There is no universal Grind 75 timeline.

The person who finishes in 2 weeks is either:

• Experienced (100+ problems already solved)
• Full-time (40+ hours/week)
• Speed-focused (not deep learning)

For most people, realistic timelines are:

• Complete beginner: 4-6 months (10-15 hrs/week)
• Intermediate coder: 2-3 months (8-12 hrs/week)
• Experienced engineer: 3-6 weeks (6-10 hrs/week)

Your timeline depends on:

1. Current coding experience
2. Available hours per week
3. Learning approach (speed vs. mastery)
4. Problem-solving skill

The framework to find YOUR timeline:

1. Take the 5-problem diagnostic test
2. Estimate based on results
3. Track actual progress weekly
4. Adjust timeline as needed (no shame in being "slower")

The most important rule: Completing Grind 75 in ANY timeline beats not completing it at all because you set unrealistic expectations.

Start today. Track honestly. Adjust as needed. And in 2-6 months, you'll have completed 75 problems that prepare you for any coding interview.

That's worth taking the time to do it right.