What are some work habits of successful programmers?

I feel like my work style is very ad-hoc. Some days I'm in the zone and can churn away, and some days it feels like I just bounce between searching docs and checking hacker news.

I think I'd be more productive if I were more methodical in my approach to work. How do you guys organize your day? How do you keep track of what you're working on and avoid distraction?