My approach is a little more straightforward: Having cut my processes down to 30-ish, I usually only update my anti-virus, reboot, shut down Skype and start AH.
Why reboot, you might ask. I use Windows Live Mail and it leaves two processes running. They can be ended from the Task Manager, but they instantly turn back on.
Why have Skype automatically start and log in at startup? I would easily forget to ever turn it on if it weren't automated. I spend more computer time being available than playing AH anyway. Shutting unnecessary things down before playing is the way of least effort for me.