Our lives as monks very much follow a daily routine:

We get out of bed, brush our teeth and wash up by 5 am; by 5: 30 am, some of the monks meditate while others will go up to the hill to do their daily kungfu practice; at 7 am, we assemble for “guo tang” (having vegetarian meals) and eat in the dining hall; at 8 am we start to receive tourists and those who come to pray; by 11: 30 am, we assemble in the dining hall to eat lunch, after which some monks will rest and their duties taken up by other monks. This is more or less our half-day’s work. At 10 pm, the board is struck to signal to all that they should go to bed. This is our routine, day after day.

As for the sramanera (novice monks or young monks under the age of 20), they usually have no memorize sutras and daily recitations. One monk is designated to strike the board at 5 am and within half an hour, the monks will be doing their daily practice either in the Grand Hall or in the Meditation Hall and this usually lasts for more than one hour. After breakfast, the monks will recite one sutra until about 8 am, they begin to get busy with their own work, such as receiving the devotees and the tourists. (From Shaolin Temple in My Heart)