Ever listen to Ricardo Villalobos? It's some of my favorite background/work music, it's very minimal. I often find listening to long mixes (Fabric CD's or something similar) works really well for helping me concentrate.

When I sit down to do work, it's usually around 7pm and it's homework. I don't like homework, but I dislike spending too much time on it even more. Often I'll go to check Facebook or HN after typing out a sentence or so, because it feels like a reward. It took me a while to realize how miserable it made the whole process.

Now if I want to get stuff done I'll remove distractions. No computer if possible---if I do have to use it I'll turn off Internet or edit my hosts file, which is usually a big enough roadblock to send me back to work. I turn off my phone. I also find that Tea helps me tremendously, in addition to tasting delicious :)