My practice has been dominated by an extended period in Equanimity. I often go through the DN to get there but it is mostly quick and done in one sit. Sometimes when I'm sick / tired I stay in Reobservation.
Again, this is to me a very useful indicator. If there is no dissatisfaction in equanimity, there is no going further. But because equanimity has nothing permanent nor permanently satisfactory in it a person is driven by this dissatisfaction to renew practice. While there can be a mad dash to try something new, to try a new practice, to try a new job, whatever, the knowledge of equanimity gets very clear in becoming naturally impartial to this stage, its extended period, its boredom, it's "what next?", its how to break through.
From a meditative angle (to set this post apart from the one above talking about daily sati) I think this is the area of equanimity wherein one can start to sit -- set a timer -- and just sit. I think an hour is useful Sitting past one's normal stopping point by 15-20 minutes I think is also useful. Stop the sit for no reason (but for you know, family, emergency). I am hearing routinely from friends that they are hitting a wall at 45 minutes and it seems to correspond with the stage of starting high equanimity.
I think it also helps to loosen the reins on the object here. If one is trying to really tighten up on the object of focus [of anapanasati] here in hopes of cracking equanimity, that really just thwarts equanimity. Here I find the mind must be loosely at its object - there but loose.
So here's an outline of what I would know for myself here (if access concentration does not start right on the first few breaths):
-- 15-30 initial minutes of dedicated anapanasati focus - more rigorous, the focus is helping all these sparrows of thought settle, stop flying up.Herein, there's the likehood of a few narratives really collecting the mind's attention (aka: daydreaming)
-- 30-45 minutes: here the little sparrows of many thoughts have calmed and either a) the mind will grow bright*** because calm abiding and relaxed attention is happening or b) the body may start to ache because all thoughts are organizing onto some singular resistance/attraction: Where is that brightness?/what can I do here? If there's too much looseness, then sleepiness gets intense here.
--45-70 minutes: for a person developing high equanimity, here's where the mind really is willing to let go, no worries about nimitta, jhana, whatever. If there was sleepiness, there is suddenly bolt awakeness. Images/thoughts may fly up like sparrows, but they are phenomena the mind can witness, there is no ability to be pulled in, so the speed of them may become rapid-fire. Anything can arise here, mind is very loose
[and attentive, but another skhanda may be more prominent so there may not be the feeling of volition directing of attention -- to me in fact, the volition aspect is quite reduced---once sleepiness is overcome (through volition) then the mind has a relaxed state, but loose, wherein other skhanda can rise, and consciousness can attend, while the sankhara aspect is naturally now placid]. If one is practicing satipatthana of the senses, here is where the senses can go unrecognized by the mind: the skhanda of recognition settles quite a bit ("What that smell or taste that just happened?" the arising mind may ask before dissolving back down). If the mind enters open awareness, then the mind may start experience stuff for which there's just really no vocabulary, but can be viewed like just so many brands of jam--here too the mind develops equanimity to this: not trying to catch anything; if at anapanasati, the breathing channel, the stomach rising, the nostrils, the windpipe may all become like cosmos-size pure machinery...whatever. If holding this stuff, it's rubbish, but natural to enjoy it/run after it for the first few times. The point is not what I am writing as example, the point is this stage of sitting to sit, letting go, is useful, fun, and comes because one only sits. I think this area you may be entering is... well, I don't want to set up expectation. So, yes, it's just sitting despite that/because sitting is 'boring'.
[edit:*** and brightening or non-brightening can also become a object-with-pull/given-needless-connection which thwarts equanimity]