5. Buy and use a copy of Strunk and White's Elements of Style. Read it before you sit down to write your first paper, then read it again at least once a year for the next three or four years. Day's book, How to Write a Scientific Paper, is also excellent
Playing the Game: The Streetsmart Guide to Graduate School This book is one of the more realistic books I’ve come across with respect to the actual process of graduate school. It’s also irreverent and funny. It starts with asking an important question; do you REALLY want to do this and why? If yes, it then plots the shortest possible path from application to graduation. It further helps you clarify where you should cut corners and where you shouldn’t. I’m pretty sure most faculty don’t want us thinking about the process this way, but frankly given the crappy academic job market this type of fore-thought is a leg up on finding a job after graduation. That alone makes it worth the money
Spend the first 2 -3 hours of the morning doing original work. Only then should you check your e-mail for the first time that day (and let the firefighting begin).