[late_groomer]

This is from my experience:

Start working as soon as your day begins (the moment your hands touch the keyboard/mouse). Do not allow yourself to go down the rabbit hole for even a second by checking/playing/reading whatever. You'll quickly get into your task and put good time into it (again, this is just my experience).

Your glucose levels are at their highest when you start your day, take advantage of that. Screwing off after you put in a few good hours becomes a reward, not a vice.

Good article on glucose's function in the brain: http://www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-brain-uses-glucose-to-fu...

[nextos]

I also recommend getting into deep work environments, with no distractions (IM, email) or noise (open plan). Sadly this is not often possible in modern work environments.

Cal Newport wrote a pretty nice book about the deep work concept and its importance for makers, full of interesting annecdotes [1].

Another critical point is to limit work in progress. If you work on too much stuff at the same time you can become overwhelmed, and thus this will lead to procrastination.

Starting tasks late, close to the deadline, might indicate you have incredible high expectations about yourself and you are afraid of underdelivering. If you are a perfectionist, understand that perfection is achieved by iterating not by getting it right initially.

[1] http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25744928-deep-work

[late_groomer]

I can't attest to your no noise tip, I'm one of those people that likes/needs background noise to focus, but IM, phone, and email are task-killers for me, as well. I also agree with limiting progress; I set a daily task goal in my head for each task as I start it. I often work through that daily goal, but it has really helped me tackle large projects without getting burned-out.

[tedmiston]

I use a fan for my background noise in my (quiet) home office.

At the (open floor plan) work office, I wear headphones playing SimplyNoise (https://www.simplynoise.com). Also, there's an iOS app version.

[chatmasta]

Is there a way to "hack" glucose levels so you get a "second wind" in the afternoon with equally high levels?

[late_groomer]

You can boost it by eating chocolate or other high-energy foods, but all digestion takes some energy and you aren't replenishing the brain benefits of sleep/rest (and you'll probably start packing on weight if you do it daily...).

I have found getting out of the office for some exercise after a good morning session can get you a good hour or two of similar focus/concentration when you return (again, you must get right on task). It's not the same quality, a squirrel running down the wire out my window can easily take me off task, but I'm in the bonus round for the day, anyway.