Mindfulness 101: Making Meditation Stick
These 6 habits help ensure your long-term success.
In the first article in this series, we discussed what mindfulness and meditation are.
In the second article, we discussed practical tips and techniques for setting up your practice in very little time.
Now, we’ll wrap up this series by answering six progressive questions that’ll ensure you experience the benefits of meditation for years to come.
Let’s start with starting.
1. How Long Should You Meditate For?
When you begin meditating, five minutes is a great launching point. Even on busy days, this amount of time feels achievable, which helps avoid overwhelm. It’s short enough to prevent I’m-too-busy excuses but long enough to experience benefits.
When five minutes becomes routine, which will occur at different points for everyone, add 2 to 3 minutes as you’re comfortable.
The goal is sustainability, not speed.
2. How Can You Schedule Your Meditation Sessions?
In the previous article, we talked about choosing the right time of day to meditate based on your needs and preferences.
Whether it’s morning, noon, or night, choose a time that’s already tied to an existing habit or transition point in your day (e.g., finishing your morning coffee or changing out of your work clothes).
From there, the easiest way to schedule your meditation sessions is to set a calendar reminder and treat it like any other important appointment.
If you miss a session, though, go easy on yourself. Simply return the next day without self-judgment.
3. How Can You Track Your Progress?
As with scheduling, keep it simple at first.
Apps like Insight Timer, Headspace, and Calm (to name just a few) can track your session duration, frequency, and streaks. Each offers premium subscriptions, but their free versions suit most beginners’ needs.
Note-taking apps are great for post-meditation reflections about your experiences and insights, but writing with analog paper and pen can offer its own form of meditation after your session.
If you appreciate tactility, a habit grid notebook can help create a visual pattern of your consistency and progress over time. If you don’t want to buy one, there are plenty of free templates online, and you can print as many copies as you need.
4. How Can You Measure Your Progress?
Even after spending a short time meditating, perhaps one of the first benefits you’ll recognize is greater introspection.
As a result, you’ll be able to reflect with greater precision on:
What your progress measurements are
Where you are in relation to these measurements
For example, what behavioral changes have you noticed? Are you calmer? Less reactive? More emotionally resilient?
If so, great! You have a clear picture of how mindfulness is helping you.
On the other hand, would you prefer to react more consciously? Do you feel like you need to increase your emotional regulation? Is your stress still higher than you’d like?
If so, that’s also great! Now, you have a clear picture of where you want to improve.
Keep checking in with yourself multiple times throughout the day. Profound or otherwise, write down what you learn. (The greatest lie I ever told myself was, “I’ll remember that later.”)
And remember: Progress comes from small, consistent adjustments.
5. How Can You Maintain Motivation?
Scheduling your meditation sessions in short bursts at an optimal time starts you off on the right foot. Tracking and measuring (and feeling!) your progress makes it super simple to see how you’re improving.
Together, this potent recipe will help you maintain long-term motivation.
You can also find external motivation by joining meditation communities (in-person or virtually), sharing your progress with supportive family and friends, and consuming practice-relate content (books, podcasts, etc.).
Remember, though: it’s impossible to maintain 100% motivation 100% of the time. When your motivation to meditate inevitably dips, you can try different techniques (such as guided meditations) or simply reflect on why you started your journey in the first place. Celebrate consistency over specific outcomes.
If nothing else, lean into accountability.
6. How Can You Keep Yourself Accountable?
The most effective accountability methods often combine social connections, concrete commitments, and regular check-ins. Social pressure encourages follow-through, while concrete commitments provide clear metrics for success.
For example:
Meditating with a buddy at a regular time/place
Group participation (in-person or virtually) with attendance tracking
Joining online meditation communities that feature monthly meditation challenges
If you’re willing to invest money, consider paid programs with cohort completion goals, as well as membership-based community meditation centers
What’s the Next Step In Your Meditation Journey?
Alright, if you’ve read all three articles in this series, you now have a deeper understanding of what mindfulness and meditation are, how you can start meditating today, and what actions you can take to ensure long-term success with your new practice.
Once you’ve dipped your toes into the calm, cool waters of mindfulness, take your practice to the next phase by downloading your free Mindful Moment Method worksheet, which will further help you jumpstart your mindfulness journey.
Or, enter your email address below to subscribe, and I’ll send you a welcome email with the download link.
And as always, don’t be a stranger! I’d love to hear about your meditation progress.
Beautiful