I often just meditate when I’m having a hard time or it‘s hard to focus. What’s your strategy to keep the habit of meditating?

My strategy for meditation is to incorporate it into what I’m already doing. For example, is there a walk, a ritual of watering the plants or washing my body, that I can make be meditative? I also use a meditation app that I really enjoy. For me personally, I enjoy cute gentle things so a meditation app that has meditations about cute animals helps me.

I normally meditate after my workout on a morning as it sets me up for the day, if I cannot do it in the morning I do it before bed.

Meditation is more than just about relaxation or focusing to me; it affects all aspects of my life. I find it helps me connect to others, to myself, to gratitude and beyond. So although I may have started meditating to help me focus or feel more relaxed, it has integrated all of my life and every moment. I find myself meditating at any given moment for all sorts of reasons but most of all for gratitude and to be better connected. I hope this helps others out there. I know it helps me as a reminder.

I keep the meditation simple. Close your eyes and imagine a little room with a chair that you envision yourself sitting on. What color is the room? Is there a table? A lamp? A plant? Just get the vision in your head and get ready for a simple meditation. Ready? Breathe in through your nose and say to yourself “breath” as you inhale and “1” as you exhale. Second inhalation say”breath” and exhale “2”. Keep this up until you reach 10. If you have a thought or an image come in your head keep inhaling and say “not breath”. Keep going until the images or thoughts go away and start all over at 1. That’s it! No elaborate structure to follow, just the breath. This particular meditation gets easier as you go. Tie it in with something else you do every day. I do it before picking up a book to read before bedtime. Sometimes I rub lotion into my hands at the same time. Find something that will remind you to meditate. Good luck!

I find that the feeling of losing focus or making mistakes in something is a good trigger to meditate. I also find positive things like walking downstairs, or lying down to go to sleep. Triggers, in sense can help you build the habit to meditate. It doesn’t matter how many times you do it, but what prompts you to need it or want it. Set you up for Happiness.

When I get into bed, right before I go to sleep, I put on some mediation or meditation music that will stop once I'm asleep so it helps me do my mediation and sleep better

I make it part of my routine so that I do it automatically without even thinking about it. At first I also used reminders on my phone.

The point is to understand that you will lose focus, and to gently bring yourself back to your object of meditation. When you realise you've lost focus be compassionate towards yourself and just start again. Pay attention to what is distracting you as well.
I try to meditate every morning after waking up and before going to sleep just to practice focusing /calm down for the rest of the day/night and that's enough reason for me to keep trying 😀

I've found that adding meditation to an already well established routine has helped me. In this case, it's my son’s bedtime routine. Once he is in bed, I will go sit in my own bedroom and try to meditate for around 15 minutes. Because I've added into a set of actions I already do every day, it's harder to forget it. I also enjoy using it as a way to switch from mum mode into me mode, so it's also something I look forward to. So my advice is, add medication even if it's only 5 minutes, to an very well extablished, almost second nature routine, and pon down a the reason why you want to do it, what benefits it provides for you.

I make it a habit to meditate in the morning to help clear my mind of what bothered me the previous day and shift my focus to the present and tasks to accomplish during the day. The promise of positivity during the day keeps me going. I always tell myself that in every situation, there is something that can be taken to help my personal growth, whether it's good or less good. At the end of the day, I am still growing and moving forward. Meditation is just the first step of the day for it. I hope it makes sense and helps ;))