I have started to have a simple rule for being a productive developer regardless of client or boss pressure: Get 1 tangible thing done a day. Ideally it has a

I have started to have a simple rule for being a productive developer regardless of client or boss pressure: Get 1 tangible thing done a day. Ideally it has a visible effect (but don't make this religion- I had to rip out a cache infrastructure last week and replace it with a home-grown one and there was no visible effect other than things not breaking!) Now, some days, this means you either don't work the full 8 or you go over 8 because the particular piece you're building just won't get built sooner (or you didn't break it up enough). But on average, just having this goal seems to be working. If interruption would be costly, I take it to a quiet place for a few hours such as a library.