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&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;7:30 AM:&lt;/strong&gt; Wake up in the hotel near the Shanghai office. Hit the gym for 30 minutes, shower and change. Even though, I am actually based in Beijing, I have been working in the Shanghai office for a couple of months.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;8:30 AM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;Have breakfast at the hotel. Recognize which day it is by the same food spread. Even though the food is good in this typical 5-star hotel, having stayed in the hotel for around two months means I am too familiar with the food.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;9:00&#160;AM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;Reach office after a quick cab ride through pretty heavy and noisy traffic&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;9:20&#160;AM: &lt;/strong&gt;Prepare for the day, finish checking messages and replying to e-mails while waiting for colleagues to stream in. The working hours in China start and end late.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;10:00&#160;AM: &lt;/strong&gt;Review work done by two research assistants who come from the top-ranked Chinese universities. Research assistants in China offices are part-time employees who are typically pursuing Master&#39;s degrees. Assign them additional areas to verify by calling or going through secondary research reports.&#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;11:00&#160;AM: &lt;/strong&gt;Synthesize some of the findings from the RA to prepare for a problem-solving session with the team.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;12:00 Noon: &lt;/strong&gt; Go out for lunch with some office colleagues. Having lunch outside the office with colleagues or clients is very common in China.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1:00&#160;PM: &lt;/strong&gt;Work with another associate and project manager for a problem-solving session. Realize the need to &quot;sanity-check&quot; some of the data from the RA.&#160;Secondary research reports in China are often less reliable than those in the U.S. or Europe, so primary research is critical to ensure better accuracy.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2:30&#160;PM: &lt;/strong&gt;Make calls to Chinese companies and associations to verify data and industry trends.&#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3:30&#160;PM: &lt;/strong&gt;Work on a few&#160;presentation slides that capture the insights from the research and problem-solving session for the midterm review with the client.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5:30&#160;PM: &lt;/strong&gt;Review findings from RAs and provide additional guidance for further research tomorrow.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;6:30&#160;PM: &lt;/strong&gt;Check in with the project manager on the day&#39;s findings, who reminds me to check with the other associate on her work stream to make sure we are coordinated.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;7:00&#160;PM: &lt;/strong&gt;Catch up with the other associate on her work stream informally to make sure we are not overlapping.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;7:30&#160;PM: &lt;/strong&gt;Go out to a really crowded restaurant for some excellent Chinese food with other consultants. Continue to marvel at the range of dinner choices in the city.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;10:00&#160;PM: &lt;/strong&gt;Return to hotel, check personal e-mail, bathe, call wife.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;11:30&#160;PM: &lt;/strong&gt;Sleep.&lt;/p&gt;

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