I have found that the best developers try to understand the code they write, even if it is only after writing a guess at the solution after Googling for the ans

I have found that the best developers try to understand the code they write, even if it is only after writing a guess at the solution after Googling for the answer or a hint of one. I have found it supremely important to understand what you are modifying because otherwise you are throwing darts at the wall blindfolded. You absolutely can care exclusively about getting out as much LOC as possible, but it is the wrong thing to care about if you want to improve as a developer & be more efficient in the future. If you are able to generally solve problems well, what happens is that as you work at them more, you become more efficient at solving them quickly and you write more valuable, difficult code quickly. If I had to recommend courses of action to improve, it would be to work on solving difficult problems, and to keep practicing your craft. Don't worry about what others around you are doing.