In the morning I find peace. I like to wake up at 5:30am most mornings and just take my time to get ready. Shuffle to the kitchen with my hair in a messy bun for a cup of coffee. Pajama pants wrinkled from a long night sleep, it’s nice to ease into the day ahead – to really take in the rich aroma of the homemade brew – to reflect and listen in the stillness.

You can visualize work, think on life, utter prayers to your Maker, read a chapter of that novel you have been promising yourself you will finish, do a few yoga poses, run to the sound of first light, take your dog on a walk and hear the bird’s fist daylight song, listen to a radio show or make boxed lunches for your family.

In this post is a chart of a few things you can do in the morning that will maximize your day and maybe give you a little more peace and joy.

Movers and shakers make the morning hours their Bethlehem. It is not surprising to find that CEO’s wake at daybreak to start their day off right. Though you might be tempted to turn on that noisy TV – it’s best to sit in the quiet and reflect. Think. These are your hours. In these moments you can choose chaos or opt for peace.

Michael Acton Smith, CEO of Mind Candy states, “I purposely try not to check my phone or turn on the TV first thing in the morning. I have my best ideas when my head is clear of distractions and I’m getting ready to leave the house. I’m fresher and have a clearer head. I find being creative later in the day much harder after a jumble of meetings, phone calls and other distractions.”

It takes willpower to do what is important to you. Aristotle offers word of wisdom here, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” I think it is important to make waking in the morning hours a habit.

Even the psalmist says, “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.” (Psalm 63: 1-2)