How do you keep a clear mind during meditation time?

I try to just focus on breathing, mostly. Thoughts will float into your mind (or barge in haha), and you just acknowledge they're there but try not to dwell. After a time, you can 'nudge' them away gently… but it's all much easier to do if you focus on breathing and how your body is feeling from second to second.

I’m not sure if this is how I’m supposed to do it but I have an 8 month old baby and find the best time to meditate is in the shower. It’s the most relaxing place I can escape to. I sit down in the tub and let the hot water fall on me while I hit play on the meditation. I also say in my head “focus” and or “concentrate” when I start thinking of tasks and items I need on the grocery list. That brings me back to thinking of just my breathing.

I love to listen to relaxing music and just concentrate on that. I let my mind flow with the sound of the river or with the sound of the wind. When you do this you just stop thinking and worrying about the things of the world

I choose a room that’s quiet. I use all my favorite blankets and essential oils. I focus on my breathing and think about peaceful places like the beach. Smell of essential oils really helps me relax

I don't. And neither should you. Meditation is not about eliminating thoughts from your head. It's about realizing that these thoughts are always happening, observing them without judging (which is hard!), and actively deciding to focus on something else instead (your breathing, a mantra, etc). However, we do develop tools to help us remember where our focus should be. One method that you should look up is called Noting. It is a very simple (but not necessarily easy) way to stop engaging with a thought and remind yourself to focus instead on your breath. To do it, you simply practice identifying when you're distracted and identify the distraction as either "thinking" or "feeling" and when you identify the thought it helps you say "oh I'm not focusing right now, I'm thinking/feeling. Let me focus". I think headspace has a little animated video about this. https://youtu.be/FjI9v-VYwZY
I hope this helps!

Don't do other stuff in the meantime.don't meditate while you are waiting for coffee or any other event where you might be interrupted .this time is for you to focus only on your mind. The goal is not to clear your mind, but to refocus it with kindness on your breath everytime it wonders