I don't own any non-stick cookware so I can't really help in regards to how to use it. The vast majority of my day-to-day cooking is done in either plain rolled steel pans (which are neither lined nor coated, they are just that - plain, raw, rolled steel which, as cast iron does, builds a slick coating through use) or stainless lined copper. I can give some general guidance that probably translates to non-stick as well.
First, protein-rich food sticking to a pan is a chemical issue, not so much a physical one. Protein molecules are forming a chemical bond reacting with metal in the pan.
In my experience most home cooks do not understand the importance of heat, nor do they regulate it well, almost always cooking at too low a temperature in a pan not adequately pre-heated.
Adding an appropriate amount and type of fat to a pan - and the time at which it is added is also important. Learning to feel your food and how it responds is very helpful and makes cooking intuitive. If you tell me what kind of sticking issues you have I will give you specific thoughts; here or by mail if you don't want to risk boring others.
But, as an example if you are having a sticking issue in trying to sear a plain protein such as the (despised) boneless, skinless chicken breast you are almost certainly not heating your pan adequately. Try heating a dry pan until it is at a smoking stage, then add a bit of your preferred oil and immediately add your chicken breast (patted dry) laying it gently in the oil and leaving it alone. Resist the urge to move it. Don't fiddle. The addition of the meat will have dropped the temperature of the pan significantly and the breast may be stuck at this point but as the protein sears it will release. It's hard to resist, but if you keep from disturbing the meat for at least a few minutes - (three, four, five?) you'll have better luck. Then, instead of trying to turn or move the meat in the pan begin by moving the pan. Give the pan repeated quick, short, shaking movements and see if the meat doesn't just slide free. Now, let it continue cooking undisturbed for another few minutes before turning. Obviously this timing all depends on the weight of your pan, the heat source - gas, electric, induction - what the protein is, etc.
There aren't many dishes that should be started in a cold pan and often what home cooks think of as a HOT pan is, in cooking terms, barely warm.
As with any rule there are exceptions. For example duck breast should be started skin side down in a cold pan, sliced garlic for sauce making is often started in cold oil in a cold pan.
Anyway, I'd rather eat a lovely seared cod fillet in a smoky kitchen than an insipid, pallid one in a clear-aired one. Hey, you over there - open a window, would you?
