The advice that a night routine needs eight steps has always assumed you get home at six. Most people do not. What follows is the version that survives a Tuesday: three things, in order, in under four minutes.
Start with less friction, not more product
Take the day off with something that does not need a second wash. Then give the skin one treatment step and one occlusive step. That is the whole shape of it. Anything else is a weekend project.
The treatment step is where a night cream earns its place. Look for a texture that sinks rather than sits, because a cream you have to wait out is a cream you will skip on the third night.
The eye area is optional until it is not
Under-eye skin is thinner and moves more, so it shows tiredness before anywhere else. If you add one more thing to the routine, make it this one, and use a fraction of what the tube suggests.
Two products, one order of operations. Do it for a fortnight before deciding whether it works, and change one variable at a time after that.