Once daily, before bed. Yes, some people do two times a day, but it's not realistic (or necessary) for many if not most people (but nothing against it).

The bottle says use minoxidil twice a day, but don't worry about this. Just stick to once. (It also says to only use it on the crown of your head, and obviously minoxidil works elsewhere too).

If you like to shower before bed - don't wash your hair so it's dry before applying minoxidil. You will shower in the morning to wash out the dried minoxidil anyways. If you only shower in the evenings, might want to consider restructuring that.

I'm with you on that applying the stuff takes tons of time and I personally can't sit around all day waiting for it to dry. Like I have no idea how some people apply the stuff twice a day. Work from home I guess? Anyways, I've had absolutely FANTASTIC results applying once a day before bed, and then shower in morning.