I've often noticed that when my coding habits or productivity is good, my life habits are good also.  Or is it the reverse?  So I thought it might be a good idea for me to bang out a quick list, to refer to when things aren't going so smoothly.

Eating Habits

• I find it hard to concentrate when I'm hungry.  I few years ago, I set my Outlook to pop up a reminder every day at lunchtime so I didn't lose track of time.  Sort of pathetic :) but it worked.
• I like to keep a bag of trail mix in my desk drawer at work.  Sure there's a vending machine at the office, but I actually like the trail mix better and the stuff in it helps keep me fueled up better than Fritos or Reese's.
• I try to split of my caffeine intake (preferably Code Red or good coffee) with some juice.  It keeps me hydrated and the natural sugar doesn't give me the same “crash” as from soda.  Did you know one of the first signs of dehydration is a headache?

Organization

• I often have to work on multiple projects at once.  I use a separate MS Project file for each one, and a master project so I can see all the time lines together.  I print them out and stick them up on my walls.
• For individual chunks of code, the VS Task list makes it easy to remember what I want to refactor.  There's even an add-in to sync it with Outlook.  It works pretty well for a sample, but I haven't reinstalled it on my new machine. (when I find the link I'll post it)
• Database Diagrams in both VS.Net and SQL Enterprise Manager are an easy way to document databases.  Don't forget the textbox feature for annotations.  I put these on my walls too.  Good or bad, my object model usually has a pretty strong correlation to my DB structure.
• My Smartphone will sync voice recordings to OneNote.  Perfect for the brainstorms when I'm not near a PC.

Sleep

• By nature and by necessity, I find it easier to catch up on work late at night rather than early in the morning.  But I'm learning to reverse that.  Traffic is better earlier in the morning, and the office is really quiet before 8:30 or 9:00 AM.
• At home, my PC isn't in my bedroom and I rarely catch up on reading in bed.  I didn't always do that, and found myself getting up in the middle of the night to code.

Speaking of sleep, good night!