Question:

Should meditations or chanting be on a daily schedule?…. like the way muslims pray in the morning/evening for example.

Answer:

Not technically like Muslims, no. Muslims have to pray five times a day at very specific times. Buddhists can meditate or chant at any time, there is no rule about when to do it. Monks do have specific times of day when they must do their chanting or meditating, but even then, that’s just a schedule set by the individual monasteries or leaders.

Laypeople get more flexibility. Everyone is different; I prefer meditating in the early evenings, while some prefer to meditate every morning. Whatever works best for you is best. when you are starting out, it’s probably a good time to experiment with meditation and learn what seems to have the best effect on you.

Once you do know when your optimal time of day is, I believe that it’s a good idea to try to do it at the same time every day if you can. You get used to the routine, and your body gets used to calming down when it’s time to meditate.