#1 best method hands down to optimize physical coding time: "Learning to code in my head...".

I personally write "rough" code in my head and do the possible user/environment problem scenarios debugging in my head too. Then jot down notes about possible problems if I mentally come across any. It's not like you are going to be writing the exact code in your head, but it sure speeds up the process when you do find the time to actually write the code. ;)

Overall this is the most important method that I have incorporated. It serves another very valuable purpose and that is there are always many different ways to do something with code. So working through all the different possible coding approaches in your head before actually writing any code will typically save you time when you do the actual code writing. ie you have worked out the best coding approach/method beforehand.

Awesome Tip: "A solid dev. environment where you can walk up, crank an iteration, and walk away. (Like in the time it takes a kettle to boil)"

To me this translates to creating automated systems and environments. It is well worth the time it takes to build automated systems when you are doing certain coding tasks over and over. It could be as simple as building a template to "plug data into" to API server automation. ;)