How to (actually) start meditating

6 tips for staying consistent

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Julie Daydreaming by Berthe Morisot, 1894. Private collection. [Image via WikiArt.]

This is one of those posts that I wrote to help myself too. I’d be lying if I said I had a perfect (or even consistent) meditation routine. It’s currently quite sporadic, although I do tend to do a five to 10 minute semi-guided meditation before I sit down to do creative writing to help quiet my mind, especially if I’ve been really busy right before. I have a terrible tendency to jump around tasks, and meditation tends to quiet that desire to bounce around tabs or various work-in-progress’.

I’m working on developing a more consistent practice (we all know meditation has a multitude of benefits), so I thought I’d take some of the habits that helped me develop a consistent exercise routine and apply them here. Plus, a couple meditation specific tricks that are worth trying.

1. Try habit stacking

I first heard about habit stacking from author James Clear in his bestselling book, Atomic Habits. The idea is simple: because of our brain’s already strong connection to habits that are currently in our life, if we want to create a new habit (say meditating), then adding it to something that is already automatic makes it easier to do.

For example, if you always make a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, you could then follow that with a five-minute meditation. This is easier than picking an arbitrary time to start meditating, since making your coffee is already an ingrained behavior in your life. You can do the new behavior before OR after the current habit, it doesn’t matter. Personally, I love how easy this formula works for incorporating new habits into your life and there is science to back up its efficacy!

2. Don’t have expectations

If you wanted to get in shape, you wouldn’t go out and run 20 miles or start deadlifting 100 pounds out of the gate. You’d work up to it. The same goes for meditation. Sure, Transcendental Meditation practitioners recommend 20 minutes a day, but if you’re a beginner there is nothing wrong with a session as short as one or two minutes.

Vishen Lakhiani, the CEO of Mindvalley, told CNBC, “People think that the length of your meditation is what determines the quality of your meditation. [That’s] not true.” He goes on, “For most people, 15 to 20 minutes will give you just the changes that you need.”

Personally, I love a 10-minute meditation. It’s a decent length that doesn’t eat too much into my writing time and I find it’s enough to get my head clear. Test what works for you and don’t be discouraged or frustrated if a few minutes is all you have time for or all you want to do. Something is always better than nothing.

3. Let it be messy

I think a misconception around meditation is that people who regularly meditate do it perfectly. That they have no thoughts or are completely present for their entire session. That’s far from the truth. Every day you’re dealing with different things, so every day your meditation practice is going to be different. There is no “good” or “bad” session. The point is to focus on being present as best you can, with the time you have. Maybe the timer went off and the whole time you were thinking about your to-do list or maybe you were able to focus on your breath for a full five minutes. It really doesn’t matter. What matters is you showed up for yourself. Give yourself grace to be messy and imperfect.

4. Consider using an app

The first meditation app I ever used was recommended by my therapist and was free. I used that app for probably a decade before ever deciding to pay for one. You don’t need an app to meditate. All you need is a timer. However, if you have the means to subscribe, an app can be a helpful tool to keep you consistent. I have a subscription to Headspace and have used it since 2020, but I know a lot of people who say they enjoy Calm. I like doing the courses and the semi-guided meditations are also nice when I want a voice to remind me to be in the present. However, sometimes I just set a timer on my phone and sit in silence. It doesn’t need to be fancy and it doesn’t need to cost anything.

5. Schedule it in

Similar to habit stacking, for some people scheduling in meditation like they schedule a meeting or appointment, can be a useful way to ensure you follow-through on a task. Consider scheduling a meditation before the activity you want to focus on — like your art. In addition to promoting creativity (as per a small 2014 study out of Leiden University), meditation can help with focus and divergent thinking.

6. Try meditation in motion

Did you know you don’t have to sit still to meditate? Moving meditation is when you engage in some form of rhythmic, repetitive movement (think: walking, hiking, biking, jogging, etc) and allow your mind to wander. This means no watching TV or listening to a podcast, as your mind will be focused on that. When it comes to listening to music during your moving meditation, some experts say that gentle music that relaxes you is still fine (think ambient sounds vs Billboard Top 100).

I talked about the science of this in my post about how movement influences creativity and I personally think moving meditation is an excellent alternative to sitting meditation, which can be challenging for a lot of people, especially as you first start a practice.

It’s funny to think that walking without sound is such a novel idea today, but it really is! We have our phones on us 24/7 and access to every song that’s ever existed, endless podcasts and audio books, not to mention the most potent diversion of all: social media. It’s amazing, but also distracting us from connecting to our creative selves.

It wasn’t until the ‘80s (technically 1979) when we could walk around with a walkman and listen to something on the go (yes, I was alive then and was the proud owner of the iconic yellow Sony “Sports” walkman, which I bought with my birthday money at Consumers Distributing).

I love walking, especially outside in nature. It’s probably my favorite form of movement besides yoga (I run occasionally, as I do like the endorphin high post-run). What I’ve noticed, is I get more creative “a-ha” moments when my brain doesn’t have distractions, so if I’m feeling stuck or disconnected I like to take a quiet walk and see what comes up in my head. To me, it feels like a little bit of science and a little bit of magic.

Tell me, do you have a current meditation practice? And if so, how do you stay consistent?

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