Hi there,
How much time to spend in your hives is a tough question with no exact answer. Messing with your bees will slow down production and give them more work to do. However, in the Southeast, in the spring, that may not be a bad thing. We have a strong early flow that can result in crowding and swarming. Swarming will result in major loss so action is advisable.
I bought 3 medium depth super/nucs that I got this spring. I made two splits with them and tried to equalize their brood. One of the hives still swarmed. With the addition of a package of bees and a captured swarm. I am up to 7 hives and growing.
My emphasis is on getting 6-8 good hives for next year instead of honey production this year. When and how much to work your hives depends on: your goals, the weather, what is going on in your hives at that moment, where you are etc.. You may want to attend a local bee club meeting and adopt some local Beekeeping strategies until you get some experience.