Mostly a combination of waterfalls http://blog.beeminder.com/waterfalls/, scheduling, and multiple goals.
- Waterfalls: I have morning goals due around lunch, afternoon goals due at the end of the workday, and evening goals due at midnight.
- Scheduling: I schedule the more difficult things for the morning and easier things for the afternoon. I keep data on how long it takes me to complete the required progress for each goal. Then I leave extra time in my schedule to either accommodate disruptions to my schedule or to work ahead if things are going smoothly.
- Multiple goals: For example, I have goals for writing time and number of words. Usually at least one of those is not red, because my writing speed is not the same for all writing tasks.
Sometimes I go through phases of using foil stars on a calendar to have a physical reward/reminder of my progress. (Yes, I give myself literal gold stars.)