Meditation is recommended for lucid dream practitioners for two reasons: It makes you relax your body and your mind.

If something is stressful try to not let that affect your dream life so to speak. You don't have to sit in a lotus position and repeat mantras in order to make meditation effective.
Just go to bed with the intention of becoming aware of your dreams so you can recall them in the morning. So just say that in your mind quietly. Then imagine a chest with a heavy lid and imagine that you put all your problems in that chest. Then close the lid and forget about it completely, you have no use for your every day problem while practicing and they will only be in the way.
Then just focus on your breath, just BE in the moment and be aware of your breath. And now instead of trying to stop thinking, just observe what thoughts that come to your mind. And let yourself fall asleep. When you are more aware of your thoughts and eventually your normal dreams, you will start to get more vivid dreams and that will lead to spontaneous lucid dreams without reality checking and dream journal, but feel free to keep doing it if you want to.

Good luck!