My Current Daily Routine

Every Sunday afternoon around two o'clock, I set off from Beijing and take the train back to school, arriving at the classroom before Sunday evening self-study to begin a new week of study. During Sunday evening self-study I review what I learned the previous week and preview Monday's classes.

During the day on Monday we have eight classes; Tuesday is the lightest day, with only four classes in the morning and two afternoon study halls followed by a thorough cleaning; Wednesday has eight classes; Thursday and Friday have six each. In addition, from Sunday through Thursday there is evening self-study every night. There is no evening self-study on Friday night; all day Saturday and Sunday daytime are free. This is the formal timetable, but we cannot actually follow it strictly, because we have many lab classes that are scheduled into the free periods, so we often end up attending ten classes a day.

Though the schedule is tight, it is not actually exhausting if one merely wants to coast along. After all, in university no one watches over us as we study, so skipping class is common. But I have basically never skipped a class; even in the so-called 'easy courses,' I generally just sit in the classroom reading. That is because if I skipped class I would set a very bad example, and I do not want to be the one to start such a trend.

After attending the professional courses, one needs enough time to digest the material. This semester our schedule is overloaded, and the class hours for each course are not generous, so the teachers lecture selectively on the important chapters and leave the rest for us to study on our own. To build a solid foundation, I have to spend extra time watching online lectures and reading; I also set aside a little time every day to write an article——this is a habit I formed from the age of 14 and have kept up for 33 years now; I do not intend to give it up, which is why I feel almost every day that there is not enough time.

Our evening self-study runs until 9:10 p.m. in summer (8:40 in winter), but I usually study in the classroom until 9:40. I am basically the last person to leave the classroom every day; I have the key and am responsible at night for turning off the lights and fans and locking the door. After returning to the dorm and washing up, I can fall asleep around 10:30. The next morning I get up around 5:30, and after washing up leave the dormitory around six, exercise on the sports field for about half an hour, then buy breakfast at the canteen and go open the classroom. This is how each new day begins. Usually I am also the first person to arrive at the classroom every day.

As a middle-aged man, besides completing my studies at school I also have the duty of supporting the elderly, raising my children, accompanying my spouse, and caring for the family. So even though I am studying full-time at school, I must still appropriately balance work and caring for my family. I often need to set aside time to communicate with my elderly father and with my wife and children at home; especially when a family member is ill, I must follow their entire course of diagnosis and treatment until their suffering is relieved.

After the sixth class on Friday, I shoulder my bag and take the train back to Beijing, to be with my family and to handle some work that is not convenient to deal with at school. Since I started school, my wife's sleep quality has been affected; after all, we have lived together for more than thirty years and grown accustomed to each other's presence. The two nights each weekend that I am home are the nights when she sleeps best all week.

I also have an obligation to look after my long-term patients and my work partners, and I must set aside time to handle all sorts of technical and administrative work. If I cannot balance my studies, family, and career well, my life will fall into disorder. When I was working before, my colleagues used to say that one person could get the work of several people out of me; now I am really treating myself as several people.

Going to school at my age, I inevitably run into some unexpected things on campus. There are 100 plus students in my class, and many of them treat me as a psychology teacher and a sort of assistant head teacher. When they have psychological problems, the first person they turn to is not the psychology teacher but me. Likewise, when there are conflicts and grudges among classmates, they think of coming to me to help resolve them. Living in such a group, it is hard for me to stand completely apart.

To complete my studies and work efficiently, I must keep a clear head, sort out what is urgent and what is important, and put all the secondary matters behind me. Every day I receive all kinds of inquiries, but I do not reply to every one. Some people want me to write according to their needs, which I cannot possibly satisfy. There are also readers who want to discuss with me questions that are not urgent for me to discuss; I simply set them aside.

In my very first week of school I drew the attention of many people at the university and in the local area, including some self-media bloggers and people who may have been reporters. They contacted me, but I did not respond with a single word. Since arriving, I have consistently tried to keep a low profile. From the first semester I told my counselor that I did not want to be known by too many people or disturbed by unnecessary distractions, and that I preferred not to take part in group university activities whenever I could avoid them. She understood and has given me great support. This is why, up to now, I have still not attracted much attention from the outside world.

I need this kind of quiet. If my world becomes too noisy, I will be unable to settle down to study and research or to carry out professional writing, and that would be the greatest waste of my life.

Before I graduate, I cannot possibly disclose information about the university I attend. For one thing, this is my personal privacy; apart from my closest relatives, I do not want anyone else to know where I study. I have also blocked the followers on my official account who pry into these private matters. After arriving at school, I spoke with my teachers and asked them to keep my secret, so that crowds of people would not come looking for me at the university. The teachers and students at my school are kind, and they all protect my privacy as much as they can, for which I am grateful. I also hope that some overly curious friends will not impolitely pry into my personal affairs. As a rule, as soon as I receive such messages, I put those friends on my blacklist so as not to be disturbed further.

I especially hope that everyone will not rashly call me (including WeChat calls); please be sure to send me a WeChat message first and wait until I have time to reply. Because sometimes when you call, I am in class or resting in the dorm, and having the phone ring during class, at the midday rest, or at night not only affects me but also affects my whole class and my roommates, which is very bad.

Why do I set down this kind of day-to-day account? Because I hope that my readers, relatives, and friends will understand the difficulties I am facing now; at this stage, time is too precious to me. It is hard for me to meet many of your requests; I must put my own studies, work, and family first, and I hope everyone will understand this. Any relationship that can endure is built on a foundation of mutual understanding and forbearance.

I wish everyone good health and all the best!