Alexandra Spunt and Siobhan O’Connor are co-authors of No More Dirty Looks: The Truth About Your Beauty Products and the Ultimate Guide to Safe and Clean Cosmetics. If you’re interested in meditation, DIY beauty products, and vegetarian recipes, be sure to check out their blog: No More Dirty Looks.

Here’s a preview of their flagship post featuring 11 ways to start meditating:

1. Use a timer. There are apps for that, and they make cute gong sounds when the time’s up. You can set it for five minutes to start, and then just decide in advance that for the next five minutes, you can’t do anything but sit there. You can think about anything you want, but you can’t DO anything. Five minutes may feel like an eternity, but if you can brush your teeth for two minutes twice a day, or you can gchat with your best friend for four hours every day, you can sit still for five. Just decide you will, and then do it.

2. Don’t worry about whether or not you are doing it right. There are a million different ways to make bread. Every loaf has a few key ingredients. Beyond that, they may vary in flavor, texture, time in the oven—but it’s all still bread. Think of meditation the same way. As long as you have the basics down—sitting still, not doing other stuff at the same time, being quiet, then doing it again tomorrow—you’re doing a fine job.

3. Understand that when thoughts come up—and they will—it doesn’t mean you blew it. The mind never shuts up completely—even when we think it’s quiet, there are other channels running in the background. It’s OK even if those channels are blaring on high volume in the foreground, also. Over time this will just happen less.

Click to read: eight more ways to start meditating.

In my meditation experiences, I’ve had strong practices by focusing on my breath. Whenever my mind starts to wander, I simply bring my mind back to my breath. The key is patience and not beating yourself up when your mind wanders. Gently bring your attention back to your breath.

Which of these methods have you tried?