This is a must read for you grad. students out there (and I’m sure it’s applicable to non-academics too):

Productivity tips, tricks and hacks for academics by Matt Might:
1. My philosophy: Optimize transaction costs.
2. Don’t work from home.
3. Eliminate temptation to waste time.
4. Salvage dead time with technology.
5. Get rid of your TV.
6. Consolidate email accounts.
7. Work from a laptop.
8. Use a calendar system.
9. Power-use a smartphone.
10. Turn off instant messaging.
11. Minimize collaboration costs.
12. Use a citation/paper-management system.
13. Procrastinate productively.
14. Iterate toward perfection.