There's way more to this, but in a nutshell, you can be mindful without meditating. Meditation trends toward clearing your mind of thought, while mindfulness might not care so much so long as your conscious and aware of it.
I've been meditating somewhat consistently for about a year now (June 2020). This note aims to capture the path that took, including tools and experiences.
I captured the early parts of this in a blog post here: