>>41255810
When I was a noob I counted marbles in my head while rearranging them/changing their color with each breath.
Example: Breathe in, one white marble, spin it. Breathe out, it switches to black. Breathe in, two white marbles, have them orbit each other. Breathe out, they switch to black. Breathe in, three white marbles, arrange them into a line and then a triangle. Breathe out, they switch to black.
So on and so on
Can repeat at 10 or continue until you can no longer keep track of all of them in your mind in the duration of your breath
If you catch yourself thinking about anything other than the marbles and your breath, you start over from one.
I also think doing some light asanas for 15-30 minutes before meditating helps a lot to get into the right headspace, as long as they are done with full attention and not to any degree of exertion. Not exercise, just some quiet mindful stretching as a physical and mental warm up so you're not jumping right in to trying to meditate after just turning your monitor off.