The first matter is being vigilant about ritual purification by performing ablution before the prayer. The objective of purifying clothes and the body is to purify the heart. Remember to consider each body member and its connection to the acts you are washing out.
The second matter is to be vigilant about the prayer's recommended acts, outer practices, remembrances, and glorifications.
Pray in a congregation or in the mosque whenever possible, strive to lead salah, and the one who leads should be the most knowledgeable of the Quran.
Listen to the athan, respond, and think of it as the call on the Resurrection Day.
The third matter is to be vigilant regarding the spirit of the prayer, which means having sincerity, presence of heart throughout its entirety, and for the heart to take on the qualities of the prayer's inner meanings during the act. Among the things that bring life to the prayer:
Understand the words by fighting external distractions through prepping the environment and internal distraction through redirecting focus on the recitations.
Glorify and revere Allah by knowing His Sublimity and Might, and understanding the worthlessness of the self.
Cultivate hope (raja) and fear (kawf) during prayer.
Feel shame, which arises out of service and knowledge of neglect.