Never check any luggage. One handheld bag, one bag for clothing and books. Keep keys and medicine on hand at all times.
Have your boarding pass and ID in your hand when you get to security.
Wear shoes that unlace and lace up easily.
Have your belt in your luggage when you're going to security.
As soon as you are out, take the entire plastic box and move immediately to a chair, out of flow.
How to get through your flight:
Be nice to the flight attendants. Don't talk over the security announcement and look like you're paying attention. Remember that although for the most part they're stuck handing out orange juice and crackers, they're really there to save your butt if the flight goes down.
Especially, don't try to sneak running phones or laptops past the flight attendants. You can hide from them, but you can't hide from the guy next to you who wonders if you may have just condemned everyone to a fiery death.
If you have enough miles, use them to get aisle seat and sit near the front. First in, first out.
If you don't have enough miles, then dump your handheld in your seat immediately, move out of flow and start looking for empty spaces in the overhead bins. Do not engage in conversation in line. Do not talk on a cellphone -- you'll be trying to do everything one handed.
When getting out, let everyone in the row before you exit before moving out yourself. It's a protocol, and while you can beat the system if you try, it's in your interests to play fair.
Take some granola bars on the flight. They keep well, and they taste better than the mini-pretzels you get. I get them from Costco.
In-ear headphones are great for blocking out noise and conversation, but don't ever have them inserted when the cabin pressure changes. It'll hurt.
Noise cancelling earphones are more of a bust for me, at least the model that I tried. I'm going to try again with a higher quality model to see if that works better.
Studio headphones (the big ones that cover your ears) work great, but are bulky and easy to break. They're not cheap either.
Whatever you do, do not use open headphones (most Grado models) on a flight. They don't block the sound of music and you'll annoy the passengers around you.
If you land and your inner ear hasn't adjusted, boil some water in a microwave and put your ear over it. The steam will help unblock it.
Despite what you might think, q-tips are a bad match for your ears. They push earwax into your ear as much as they pull it out, and then it will calcify and make matters worse. Try warm water to melt earwax.
Force a deep yawn and massage the hinges of your jaw (just in front of your ears) to equalise your ears.
If you want to sleep on the flight, chose a window seat so you can rest your head against the wall. Also, look out of the window, it's amazing what you sometimes see.