Be reasonable. Set a very doable goal. Don’t say, for example, “for the rest of my life, I will meditate every single day for 30 minutes.” The first time you miss a day, you’ll feel terrible. Instead, establish something like this: “Starting tomorrow, I will meditate Monday through Friday, for 10 minutes. For two weeks.” Whatever you decide, stick with it, and at the end, reassess.
Be consistent. Consistency is more important than duration. 10 minutes a day, 5 days a week is better than 50 minutes, one day a week. Try to practice at the same time each day. You may need to experiment to determine that time. Most people like to practice in the morning, but if you’re a night owl, you may do better later in the day.
Straighten up. Posture is important, and not just because sitting up straight enables energy to flow properly within the body. We want to avoid pain. That said, it’s not at all unusual to be mildly uncomfortable in the first days or weeks of practice. It can take a while for your body to adjust to sitting in this way and in the meantime, your foot may fall asleep or you could feel a little achy in your joints. Don’t worry, these will pass. Of course, if the pain is more than mild, you need to pay attention to this! If you’re sitting on the floor, move to a chair. Make adjustments to your posture to avoid injury.
Establish your seat. You don’t have to get super fancy about it, but choose a spot in your home or office for your meditation practice, preferably one you feel you’d want to return to. Keep it neat and clean. You can invest in a meditation cushion, but this is not necessary. You can sit on a sofa cushion or chair. It can also be lovely to have a shrine or altar table at home. Keep it simple. A bookshelf, bedside table, or windowsill is good. A table covered in brocade holding a candle and a photograph is awesome too. It’s not important to make your altar table the most beautiful in the history of the world. It is important that it be neat, clean, and show sincerity. Typically, altars contain things that evoke the senses, such as images, fragrances, and so on. These are the most non-conceptual offerings. You can place on your altar an image of something or someone precious, flowers, a candle, and/or incense.