Second Hack: Have an understanding wife (she's either running her own business or catching up on soaps in the evening)
Third Hack: Send children to bed at a strict time (7pm - it's good for them and you because it establishes a routine)
Fourth Hack: Be focussed, if you're doing something - just do that one thing and do it well at any one time - monotask!
Fifth Hack: Know your stuff - eleven years programming has given me a plethora of skills to draw on
Sixth Hack: Know when to stop - you're going to get burned out, you need to smell when this is going to happen and give yourself a break - remind yourself what life is about.
A typical day goes like this: Wake up, go to work, home for dinner, back to work, run home, shower, play with son, work hard (and eat), sleep - rinse and repeat. I pepper that day with talking to my wife.
Routine is helpful - I'll find that I have sprints of three weeks being incredibly productive, then I'll burn out - recharge - and throw myself back in.
Also, I'd recommend just having one news source, I can spend hours trolling The Register, SomethingAwful, HN, FunnyJunk, Reddit - but at the end of the day the only news that matters (to me) is HN.
Additionally, reading HN (constantly) has helped me refine my writing style to the tastes of HN.
I think it's called mono-tasking, do one thing and do it well at any one time.
Don't forget to take note when your body/mind gets tired, running & excercise will help you get more energy. But there will be times where you might just want to play XBOX, or eat, or troll the internet - all are signs of burnout. Mono-task to recovery.
I say this because I've done it before, I've told myself "Hey I'm not burned out, I'll just read this thread and at the same postulate that SQL query"... you just burn out faster.
"The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people."
You have to try, and you have to be persistent
Also, do something physical for your lunch - even if it's just walking to a shop and back.
Your evenings matter, yes you'll be more productive in the mornings but you have to go to work. The sooner you finish work, the more time you have to relax before you start work again.
I'd also ask about starting earlier or working from home or flexitime.
If you can afford the time on weekends try and work in the mornings.
I'd also force yourself to have a night or two off every week.
Build a routine, your body-clock will change and it may start to exhaust you if you change too many things too fast. So expect to work at a slower pace until you've refined your routine.
Monotask. I've never heard that before. I like it.
That's how my brain works.