I only have only one real tip for you: learn to get in the zone.
When I am in the zone I have an intense desire to create a beautiful masterpiece in my chosen art and revel in its elegance and beauty. When I am in the zone outside distractions are eliminated and my mind is fully focused on the task at hand. When I am truly in the zone matters such as health, family, children, work and (when I was younger) even hunger or the need to sleep disappear; all that remains is the task. My brain has maximum cycles to iterate again and again until I achieve greater understanding and/or arrive at a solution.
I do not have very good general tips on how to get in the zone. I have some things that work for me, although not always. They include:
- Real-world isolation: These days where everyone is at home, I go to a corner in my garden where my family knows not to bother me.
- Virtual-world isolation: No emails. No browsing. No notifications of any kind. Phone on silent. Absolutely no Slack, Teams, etc!
- Friction-free programming environment: If the build takes 20 minutes, then it will be hard to remain in the zone. If the Mac has stuck keys get them fixed or buy a laptop from a different brand.
- Headphones with some favorite music: For programming I like trance, the more repetitive the better. I often use this youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/MrLemilica2
- Review previous work on the subject: This acts as a brain warm up for me and usually puts me in the right mood.
- Some times work better than others: When I was younger it was far easier to get in the zone at night. These days I do not have that luxury because of family.
- Work on a problem that excites you: It is much easier to get in the zone when the subject matter interests you. It is harder (although still possible) when the subject is less interesting.
- No context switching: Choose a task and stick to it for at least a few hours.
- Get the non-enjoyable tasks out of the way: (This may not work for everyone.) I like to complete tasks that I do not enjoy (e.g. administrative or legal) first. I can then continue my work care-free instead of having this niggling thought in the back of my mind: "do not forget to respond to the lawyer".