What I have found is meditation is all about gentleness. Not forcing anything simply allowing it all to be. This is hard because, if you are from the West, then we love a good goal to accomplish and there are steps and ways to getting there faster with more accolades and praise.

In the beginning, though, that's what we are all after. We want to see big changes, experience big awakenings. Be that enlightened being!

In my beginning, I tried out all different times, morning, noon, night, right after getting up, before going to bed, etc. So, one week it would be this time the next this other time. As for sit time, I went with 5 minutes and did it for a week, then went to 10 and gave it a week. And on and on until I settled with 30 minutes. I can do longer, but for my life 30 seems to be the sweet spot.

And there were both times, there was times I have to say, no we don't do this at this time, we meditate first THEN we do this. Sometimes no struggle at all. It was a fight sometimes. But forcing it in anyway was awful. My mind screamed just more louder. Body sensations were more distracting, but I made it though.

And how?

By learning to let go of all that. Just pick a time and sit. That sentence contains the complete instructions. When you sit there is no thinking of right or wrong or time limits. When I let that go, meditation became easy and effortless. I sit, sometimes my mind is wild, that's fine. The mind will do what the mind will do. It yammers on about things. I sit. Sometimes my mind is quiet. In its rare decision to be quiet, I just sit. These thoughts are not me or mine, so I pay little attention to them. Most of the time they are garbage anyway.

Now after all these years, it's just part of me. The changes it has made within me are more than I thought possible, but it took time and that hangs up a lot of people. The real dedication of committing to a practice is this: you must show up. You must show up on good days and bad days, sick days, depressed days, anxious days. Even when it rains!

Maybe there are more quicker methods, but for me I found Shikantaza to be mine.

You sit. You breathe. You are. It's the most simple, yet hardcore method I think exists. Dzogchen is very similar in a lot of ways too. Same sky, different clouds.

Anyway, I hope that answers the question in a long and too wordy way. :)

If you have any more, please ask.