I stick to two rules when I brew:
1. Get the recipe, targets and all the equipment ready the night before
2. Start early and wait for nobody.
I like to be having lunch during the chill, so this usually means doughing in by 7am. I have an electric HLT with a thermostat which I get going last thing the night before, so my mash water is ready to go first thing.
I find if I leave it any later to start, the lunchtime beers take a heavy toll on my attention to detail, and it's bloody miserable cleaning up boilovers and spills in the evening when you're half cut and just want to relax... especially if the 'assistant' you waited for went home wankered before you started cleaning...
:angry:
My best tip though is to get a couple of plastic crates, and fill one with hot water and the other one with iodophor solution on brewday - this gives you a central point where everything lives - thermometers, hydrometers, spoons, bottlers etc - so there's no hunting for stuff and finding it sitting in a puddle of congealed wort when you need it.
:super: