How To Make Time For Meditation? 5 Effective Ways Disclosed

Finding time to meditate might feel like chasing a mirage in our hectic lives. However, prioritising mindfulness is crucial for mental clarity and emotional stability. Neglecting this practice can open doors to stress, leading to burnout and a frazzled mind. Don’t let life chaos steal your peace. Let’s address the lack of time barrier and find out how to make time for meditation in your busy life—practically and actionably.

How to make time for mindfulness – 5 methods

Self-care is not a luxury but a necessity. By investing time in self-care practices like meditation, you’re prioritizing your mental, emotional, and physical well-being.

1.      Start small

Let’s be honest. We all have never-ending to-do lists that keep us busy for the entire day. Many times, it includes tasks that do not move the wheel, but they are there because we want to be seen as busy all the time. So the first thing is to challenge the old belief that you need a large amount of time to meditate. Having this belief, this is only contributing to procrastination and pushes you away from execution.

Even a few minutes will go a long way. Whether it’s guided meditation, mantra meditation, or any other type, start small. Once you get into the habit, it will be easier to extend the time. I recommend doing it in the morning just after brushing your teeth because then you won’t have many excuses. Morning is the ideal time, especially if you have kids who will get up and strangle you in all sorts of activities.

You can also choose noon or night. If you choose nighttime, meditating can aid you in sleeping blissfully.

2.      Carve out time from time-wasters

Sit silently in a room and reflect on the time spent on social media, mindless scrolling, or gossiping. Eliminating these activities from your routine will free up valuable time that could be better used for meditation.

Seriously…

•  It’s not essential to reply to every email.

•  It’s not important to call back everyone who called you throughout the day.

• It’s not essential to clean your entire countertop every time you cook something in the kitchen (you can do it at night altogether).

• It’s not worth it to comment on the Instagram photos of all your friends.

Be kind to yourself, and limit these activities. I’m sure you’ll find time for meditation.

3.      Pair it with an existing habit

Pair your meditation session with an existing habit, like drinking a cup of tea or brushing your teeth. Perform it before or after it (drinking tea, meditation, or brushing tea). This association creates a trigger for your mind to engage in meditation automatically. Within a few weeks, you’ll notice it has become your new habit.

This is called habit stacking. It’s grounded in the concept of “cue-routine-reward” loops. When you perform an established habit, your brain is already primed for a specific sequence of actions. By adding a new habit immediately before or after an existing one, the existing habit acts as a cue, triggering the new behaviour without requiring significant additional effort or willpower.

I added my meditation practice in the morning and other practices that helped me create intention around my day. Right after cleaning up, I love to light a candle, put some essential oils in my diffuser, and start my practice. This way, I feel like the aroma from the oils carries the energy of my meditation. Try one of my morning meditations here.

4.      Be flexible

Being flexible is crucial in increasing the time for meditation. Acknowledge that life is dynamic, and circumstances may change. Not every day will look the same; you might have to change the time and setting of your meditation on some days, but don’t use this as an excuse for skipping or quitting (in a worst-case scenario).

Adjust your meditation duration or experiment with different techniques if your schedule becomes hectic. For example, choose a partner or group of people to do meditation with (so you’re held accountable if you miss a day) or lay down your meditation outfit and equipment on the couch before sleeping so you’re triggered to accomplish the meditation task when you wake up and see them.

I used to have a rigid meditation practice that worked well during the pandemic. I was doing about an hour a day. But when life resumed, it threw my hour-lasting routine out. It took me months until I realized things were not returning to that flow. However, once I accepted the need to spend less time meditating and changed the time of my practice to something that would work better, I was able to get back into it.

5.      Use headphones

Another practical way of making time for meditation is to realize that the practice doesn’t necessarily mean sitting in a quiet place wearing leggings (or shorts) and having an infuser by your side. You can practice meditation anywhere—use your headphones to cancel out the surrounding noise and get in a position to execute mindfulness. It could be on a plane, on a bus, or even during your lunch break at work.

But what do you play on the headphones while meditating? Well, there are several options:

1.       Recordings by an expert while doing guided meditation. These are step-by-step instructions from your expert, such as breathing slowly, carrying out a body scan, thinking about a particular object, etc.

2.       Nature sounds like ocean waves, gentle rain or birds chirping.

3.       Binaural beats. These are auditory illusions created by playing different frequencies.

All these sounds assist in achieving a meditative state.

Bottom line

Finding time for meditation is not a hard ask, you see. You just have to be strategic and attentive. Remember, it’s not about finding time; it’s about making time for what truly matters – your inner peace and well-being.