Practice, practice, practice.
It took me 45 minutes *per eye * to get mine in the first time, by the end of the week, ten minutes, by the next couple of months, I was an old pro. Today I can pop them in and out as though I were born with them in my eyes as accessories. I don’t need a mirror at all. I’ve even managed to pop them in and out while riding as a passenger in a car, though I don’t recommend it. 
But hey, if it needs to be done, it can be done.
I’ve been wearing mine for ten years. When I first got them, I was taught the “roll up” method, where you roll your eye up, put the wet contact against it, and it would “grab” onto your eye. However, when my eye doctor saw me do this recently, he mentioned that he hadn’t seen it done that way in a long time, and tried to teach me to “roll down” instead. I did it for him, just once, and when I got home, I went back to the roll up method. I’ve never had any problems with it, and you will find a way that works for you, too, over time.
A few tips:
1. Be sure your hands are dry and your contacts are wet with saline solution - nothing else. Wetting them with water makes the edges feel sharp. Ouchies. I knew a girl who spit on her contacts to make them wet - the resulting infection was not pretty.
2. Make absolutely sure they’re not inside out. It’s hard to tell when you’re not used to them, but you’ll recognise it with practice. If you look closely, the lip will look like it’s pointing slightly outward. Not good. I’ve popped one in like that before - it popped immediately back, like it had been set in a slingshot. Ping! Not cool.
3. I can’t stress this enough, even though it’s a “duh” - make sure your hands are clean and dry! Any amount of soap left over, or tiny dirt in your fingernails, spit, whatever - make sure you’re hands are clean, clean, clean. Experience talking: I once thought my hands were clean, after having handled some jalepeno peppers for dinner. They weren’t. Dear Og they weren’t. My eyes still water at the mere mention of jalepeno pepper as if they belonged to Pavlov’s dog.
4. Your eyes are much tougher than you probably believe they are. My father casually said that to me one day when I was having some trouble, and for some reason, it helped. I mean, treat them kindly, but they’re not eggshells. Many people who have never had to touch their eyeballs for any reason seem to believe they are made of pudding. When you realise you are not going to poke your eye out, it helps you relax a little.
5. Relax. Take your time. It’s not a race. If you find yourself getting frustrated, clean the contact, wash your hands, and go take a breather. In time, you will get it. Try again in an hour or so.
6. If you drop one, don’t panic. Don’t move too much, though. Gently crouch down to where you thought it might have gone, squint and search. Clean your contact thoroughly when found.
7. Keep kids and animals out of any room you’re trying it in. Actually, clear everyone out if possible. Unfortunately, as far as I know, anyway, you do have to get them in at least once in front of your eye doctor/his or her secretary. After that, though, make it you time.
8. Try to keep your nails blunt, if you have any at all. I’ve torn many a contact with a sharp fingernail. :smack: If it happens, don’t try wearing it, even if it’s a small tear. It hurts. It’s annoying. Pick up the phone and order more, or use one from your supply. Live and learn.
9. Try to keep a spare pair of glasses around. You just never know. I wore my contacts for years and years without incident, then my eyes were red all the time, and now I can’t wear them longer than 10 hours a day. The tiny veins in my eyes were being suffocated, and if I hadn’t gone to the eye doctor, I could have gone blind. Not to scare anyone, but just be sure to keep regular appointments with your eye doctor, especially with contacts. I go once every two years - that last time I’d gone, however, I hadn’t been to see him in over eight years. Don’t do that. Go by what he recommends. It also helps to keep glasses around in case you’re on your last pair and one rips - I’ve gone without one contact before. I thought my depth perception was bad normally; without that one contact, I just walked in circles. <— me with one eye.
10. Always take them out before you go to bed at night. Your eyes need to breathe. Contacts limit the air that gets into your eyes. It’s okay for so long, but not for extended periods of time. I’ve heard there are “breathable” contacts available these days, and you can wear them for a month without removing them, but I believe they are pretty expensive.
None of these are hard to follow once you get into a daily routine of doing it. I’m sure you’ve heard a handful of them before, but they’re worth repeating. You’d be amazed how many people suddenly “forget” what they were taught about their contacts! Some glide by with bad habits for a while, but I promise you, it will catch up eventually. None of this is meant to be scary - you’ll get the hang of it. It just takes a little time.
Good luck!
