9 Ways To Improve Programming Skills in Less Than 30 days

Do you want to improve programming skills? Right.

Others will tell you to surf the Internet and binge-watch YouTube videos. But developers at BigOhTech don't follow such age-old norms. They don't believe that following a few programming tips and tricks can help them develop high-converting apps.

They experiment with things and keep their hands dirty by trying multiple projects, taking a WHY approach to building anything. We've asked our 100+ developers what makes them better programmers today.

This 9-step snappy guide is for coders who genuinely want to learn how to improve programming skills and progress from level A to level B.

1) Say NO To Vibe Coding

Vibe coding means developers get the code through prompting and try to test different prompts to run the project. Though Vibe coding is helping developers save hours, it's also killing their thinking skills. This type of coding is shifting programmers from a "how to" to a "what to build" approach.

While AI is still a tool, a technology that can never replace humans, it depends on individuals and how well they use it.

Here's what a developer feels about relying too much on AI tools, putting the prompts and running the project. Things become easier NOW at the cost of their thinking skills.

People who know how to leverage AI tools (GPT, DeepSeek, Claude, etc.) and know how code works can still do a better job.

But if you're among those programmers who are in the habit of accepting AI suggestions, seeing the stuff, getting the stuff, and copying past it all over.

Then, VIBE coding makes you DUMBER by letting AI make decisions for you.

You can give better prompts to AI, but if you feel that whatever output AI provides will be 100% true, then your job is in danger.

This current state of technology will do more of your work in less time, but eventually, when you make it your daily habit, it will reduce your thinking capabilities.

2) Learn a lot about Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA)

Initially, most programmers skip the DSA route and devote more hours to coding. However, they forget that DSA is the foundation of software development.

By learning DSA, you learn the art of organizing data and identifying which algorithm is suitable for solving problems.

A good programmer always cares about data structure and relationships, while a bad developer goes with a coding first approach.

Learning about DSA helps you make your code more readable and maintainable.

Result?

You can develop reliable software.

However, if you treat data models as a last step, then it would be difficult for you to work on creating complex systems.

Linus Torvalds, the creator of Git and Linux, applied DSA for his project

I once worked on a project and spent hours restructuring data, eliminating classes of problems, and optimizing algorithms. With a well-designed data structure, I replaced a 500-line code function with a 50-line code function, and to our surprise, the new code was faster, readable, and more maintainable.

3) Competitive Coding

The other way to improve programming logic is by participating in coding challenges like Leet Code, Hacker Rank, Code Wars, CodeChef, etc.

These platforms provide developers with scenario-based coding challenges, and they work on real life situations. The programming problems can be of different categories and can range from easy to hard level.

Leet code is like your side project, a daily habit you build to upskill yourself. If you want to come out of your comfort zone and develop a learning mindset of seeing a problem from 100 different angles, then Leet code is the go-to platform for that.

Best part? The real magic happens when programmers are asked to solve algorithmic puzzles under time constraints that simulate high-pressure scenarios.

This tests their problem-solving and thinking skills.

4) Get Your Hands Dirty By Doing More

The best way to learn how to improve programming skills as a developer is to start doing it NOW, not later.

Whenever you feel stuck, type your problem on Google and read the stuff, such as an online doc or language framework.

Most developers try to reinvent the wheel, but they should focus on solving the current problem rather than starting everything from scratch.

You love playing soccer for instance so why not try creating a sports app for that. When you connect your passion with that coding challenge, problems become more interesting to solve.

Start by knowing what type of programming languages you’re more comfortable with, learn the basics, go deeper into that and learn its features.

Read the docs, refactor code, and start working on different projects, as every new project will teach you something new that you didn’t know previously.

You can become better at programming when you spend time reading other’s code, modifying it, and learning from fellow developers.

5) Break the problem into smaller chunks (Divide and Conquer Rule)

Programmers can improve their logical thinking by breaking down the problem into smaller, manageable pieces. Start with simpler tasks and then narrow down to solving bigger problems for that project.

How to do that?

Apply the Single responsibility principle where each class or function should focus on solving one task at a time.

That's called a divide and conquer approach, where you work on solving each part of the puzzle piece by piece.

Start with pseudocode and mind maps to do a thorough problem analysis.

Map out the inputs and outputs you've had, jot that problem down on a piece of paper, visualize it (create a flowchart), and start connecting the dots.

Note: Consider every new feature as a mini step/mini system which starts with designing the solution, splitting it into components, validating your approach and then building.

6) Understand The Business Logic First & End Goals (why you're building)

Bad developers believe logical thinking starts with coding, but they're wrong. Logical thinking begins with a core purpose and understanding the WHY behind building each product.

You can use tools such as SonarQube for code cleansing, identifying real-world bugs, and improving customer experience. But if the business logic doesn’t align with development goals, then you’d end up creating a product that no one likes.

Note: You create a GREAT product that naturally improves the customer experience by aligning development with strategic goals.

7) Start Studying Other People's Code

Review other programmer's code and start joining open-source repositories. That's one way of learning different coding styles, and that, too, by seeing how others are contributing.

GitHub and Stack Overflow are a few examples of open-source libraries.

Best part? You will learn about good coding practices from experienced developers and know their insights on how they solve a problem. By observing how they write code, you will apply the same method to solve your problem.

When you read the code from open-source libraries, keep a diary handy. Note what you learned, the problems developers faced, and how they solved them. That's how you find a new way of solving a problem. For that, you need to develop more and more.

8) Work On Multiple Projects

Work on some real-life projects, and that's sure a way of improving your logical thinking. Join an open-source version control system such as GitHub and study how other developers approached that problem, study their code, review it, and see how you can do the same in your way.

You can ask other coders to review your code and share their feedback. To do so, you can join communities such as Reddit and Stack Overflow, where you can share your code and get insights from other programmers.

This way, you can learn what logic they applied while solving a problem. It's like when you learn from the best programmers and developers, that's when you start thinking more logically.

9) Intelligent Programmers are GREAT at Reasoning

To become a pro programmer, you must master math and reasoning skills. While most programmers still argue that learning math isn't necessary, if you know such stuff, you will quickly understand the concept of data structures and algorithms.

There's a strong relationship between studying mathematical concepts and applying the same frameworks to solving a coding problem. Logic, Boolean algebra, and set theory are mathematical concepts that can be used in programming scenarios.

For instance, you should know Fourier transforms if you want to create a guitar tuner app. But if you build a physics engine for a video game, you should first learn calculus and differential equations.

This means you can become a better programmer if you’re good at MATH.

Next Steps...

As a coder, you now understand the top ways you can follow to sharpen your logical skills.

But here are a few more good things to remember while you're on your programming journey.

1. Adopting test-driven development methodology (writing the test before coding) to improve logical skills. Once you improve test-driven development, you'll see the value in large and complex codebases.
2. Always engage in code reviews. This way, you'll learn about different logical approaches while receiving feedback.
3. Involve in rubber duck debugging, where you explain your code to an imaginary thing, or it can be anyone. When you explain the things to that duck, you'd know where you'd go wrong.
4. Empathy is the first step to developing logical skills – understanding yourself in a customer's shoes. Talk with real users, use your product, and get feedback.

1. Use the open/closed principle, where the code should be extensible without rewriting the logic.

P.S. - What are some everyday things you generally do to improve your logical thinking and programming skills? Drop those bombs in the comment section.