The two things that make the most difference to me are haivng a "Personal Productivity Scaffold" and excercise. (See (http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2007/07/h

The two things that make the most difference to me are haivng a "Personal Productivity Scaffold" and excercise. (See (http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2007/07/how-to-create-a-personal-productivity-scaffold/ http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2007/07/how-to-create-a-per...). The scaffold is nothing overly complicated, it is essentially a standard way of planning my day and starting work in the mornings and after lunch.Working out is something I hated to do for a long time until I started lifting weights, now I find that an exhausting workout 3-4 times a work really helps the quality of my sleep, which really helps my mental altertness the following day. The almost meditative "Zen" time while working out has become a key problem solving and decision making time for me. And the fact that it reduces stress and improves stamina over time is a great bonus. On rare occasions now when feeling trapped by inertia or indecsion I will leave during the middle of the day, and work out. I almost always have a clear picture of the path to resolution or the creative solution by the time I am done.