You're a professional writer. When you need to get work done like that, how do you do it? For you, what are the mechanics of just sitting down and cranking out text? And with little kids around, how do you manage to get enough clear space in your head to write?

(I ask because I'm facing an upcoming year of dissertation-writing, and I really need to get a better process, including a daily practice. So I'm polling people who have experience with this.)