I just have one town, and I generally play like 30 or 45 minutes before I go to bed as sort of a wind-down activity. It's enough time to do dailies and arrange flowers/paths/interiors/etc. Sometimes I play on the subway on my way to work if I want to engage with something more than just music. For the most part though, I'm almost finished with my town after almost two years of just playing a little bit every day. And of course binge playing when I have the time, but only occasionally.
I say when you get home from work, spend 30 mins playing ACNL in bed or whatever.
The best thing is that you can time travel to 12 PM if it's 7 PM. Or maybe you could play on weekends; if you have Sundays and/or Saturdays off!
I work and I have 3 kids. I have been playing with the same town since I got the game. I go through phases of not doing much, just the basics, and then I decide to redesign a room, or move a villager and plot reset for another. I don't have goals, like trying to get all the badges or fill the museum, it's more leisurely and slow. I don't get bored or burnt out.
