There's no "one size fits all" approach to Chakra balancing, so I'm going to get a little personal here. We're not clones of each other, because while sitting on my front porch and unwinding brings me peace.....for you that might be a total bore.
The way I use crystals and gemstones for peace, also might not be up your alley either, but it works for me and I'll share it here with you. Sometimes it's a a head to toe (or toe to head) practice, and other times it's in approaching two or three consecutive chakras.
I prefer to wear my chakra gemstones in the form of a bracelet. I like that at any point in my day, I can look down for a reminder and mentally ground myself. I like that in addition to wearing the appropriate color, I am wearing something that also has deeper metaphysical properties, like quieting an overworked mind or taking myself out of "chick with a dick" mode and into more nurturing feminine energy.