The beginning and the end are my two favorite times of the day. This is when my thoughts are most clear and distractions seem most distant.

Mornings are usually spent quietly in my office with a hot cup of coffee.

Half the recipe to a good cup of coffee is a good cup, and this mug from Peet’s is my favorite. It’s my companion as I journal new thoughts and ideas, check my email, read a book, or watch a lame YouTube video my sister sent.

It’s this time early in the day that I cherish the more than any other. The coffee is fresh, and even though I have half-a-dozen meetings planned and a to-do list as long as my arm, the day still feels like a blank canvas.