I have been consistently meditating for about sixteen months. There have been a missed week or two and some days I might not make it in, but on average, I will do a five-minute meditation. I used to do ten minutes, but I found five minutes has worked for me.
What I have learned is that meditation is not a state or a destination. People have the misconception that you should feel a certain way or have some spiritual nirvana or you are not there yet. This is not at all how I think about meditation. What it is for me is a practice. You practice regaining control of your mind. You practice with some deliberation pushing out the normal state of our wild brain and putting some focus into thinking about a single thing, in my case breath. This one practice alone is calming to be sure, but does not amount to much more than a pause in your day. What this does add up to with consistent practice is a greater awareness of when you are not in a good mental place you would like to be, and how to get back there.
I was at a museum this week and noticed I was getting quite agitated for a variety of reasons. This agitation took my focus away from enjoying the art (the moment), so I stopped, took some breaths to recenter myself, and just noticed what I was feeling. I was able to get some sense of control and enjoy the moment more after having to do this a few times. This is where the practice of meditation can help in a more practical example. You have a better baseline for what you enjoy and will tolerate and the tools to get you to where you want to be.