I usually handily daily, with the obvious exceptions of 2 days after feeding, or if I am truly swamped with homework. In the evening, my snake will usually explore her tank for a little while. I like to wait until this time because I feel she is showing she is in an active mood rather than me uprooting her hide and dragging her out.

I think that handling is beneficial in the sense that it further assures your snake that your aren't threatening. In my opinion, if you don't handle them leisurely, when you DO handle them for maintenance, it could potentially freak the hell out of them because you are not a familiar object, whereas with frequent handling, they will just think, "oh, you again."

I have said before that I think you have a successful "relationship" with your snake if it feels indifferent toward you. If they don't view you as a threat and just generally don't give much of a crap when you bother them, job well done.