Don't stay up the night before. Just keep to your normal schedule.

Keep the shades open during the flight -- that will help enormously with jet lag when you arrive. Your body will think it's just one very long day, you'll be exhausted when you arrive. Have a light dinner jump into bed, get your 8 hours and you'll be ready to go the next day. This is what I do when I take that flight.

As for getting through the flight, napping is fine if you can, but if you can't, no big deal. I like to drink (yes, alcohol -- as long as you stay hydrated, it's not a problem), listen to my iPod with my Bose headphones (noise canceling phones are an absolute MUST on long flights), maybe watch a movie or two on my laptop.

Are you in business or coach? If the latter, I always bring my own food on-board. A couple of carefully chosen tasty sandwiches are ideal: nothing smelly, and nothing that tastes worse at room temperature. I favor things like chicken, turkey or ham. First, the food on-board will be vial. Second, the sandwiches give you something to do.

The part about the shades, though, is key to avoiding jet lag. I always book a window seat and, if the FA asks me to lower it, I refuse. The most I might do is put it down halfway. If another pax asks me, I'll refuse and, depending on how they ask, I might put it down half-way.