Working on code takes some concentration which is hard to attain in 30-60 seconds; it's closer to 10-15 minutes, but then the time is up.
The other satisfying part about lists (esp. hierarchical, I use Todoist fwiw), is that there really is a lot that can be fleshed out about what needs to get done on a project when there is even a little spare time. I'm not going to code during the 5 minutes spent waiting for the dentist, but outlining some fairly low level tasks I need to complete is doable and useful.
- Keeping a todo list on a paper under my keyboard to start quickly.
- Reserve larger things that takes time like refactoring for the week-end (2-3 hours ).
- I tried to use the same technologies I used at work to avoid learning time.
- I asked my wife to avoid asking me things at that time
Try these:
* Sleep one hour less a night.
* Don't drink alcohol.
* Prepare all food for the week in advance.
* Cut down your time from awake to shaved, showered, dressed to 15 minutes.
* Work less at your day job.
* I don't drink alcohol at all.
* Nice idea about food, which I mostly follow. Not all food can stay palatable for a week, though.
* Faster startup is a nice idea, too.
* Working less on my day job would be nice, but probably my employer won't be happy. I'm not overworking.
My best moments of clarity are on my hour long morning drive after a good night's sleep, not when I'm actually doing the work.
The only 'controversial' one is sleep - which can vary by experience. If you're sleeping 9 hours, cutting 1 hour back to 8 shouldn't be catastrophic. If you're already only sleeping 6, then it's a different story.