I'm in row 1 on my next three bookings (all Dash-8s and CRJs). Luckily I'm travelling back and forth to the same location so I can leave everything in my hotel suite minus my laptop and the clothes I'm wearing, plus a few personal items. I bring with me one laptop bag with my laptop, books, etc, and my coat. Both go into the overhead storage bin, coat on top of bag, because there's no other place to put them.

My usual "with rollaboard" technique is rollaboard in bin, coat on top of it, laptop bag under seat with personal items. Pretty basic, really.

I can't imagine ever putting my nice wool coat under the seat in front of me, it'd get filthy, especially in winter when you're trudging through snow to board your plane (yep, some airplanes are still boarded the old fashioned way, particularly AC Jazz flights).