Question: How do I start my function every 5 minutes and 20 seconds? I used: 

```
self.timer = QtCore.QTimer(self)
self.timer.timeout.connect(self.updateplot)
self.timer.start(310000)

```

But I'd like to set it by the time of my PC - so if I start the program at 3:23, the update track is at 3:25:20, 3:30:20 etc.

Answer: 
you can use reflection.

```
Dog dog = new Dog("val1", "val2", "val3");
            List<String> list = new ArrayList<>();
            for(Field field: Dog.class.getDeclaredFields()) {
                // since fields are private we need to first mark it accesible
                field.setAccessible(true);
                if( field.getType().equals(String.class)) {
                        list.add((String) field.get(dog));
                }
            }

```
It is not much different from your solution but at least it controls a bit values being returned as List.

```
private List<String> allValues = new ArrayList<>();

public Dog(String breed, String name, String origin) {
   this.breed = setAndReturn(breed);
   this.name = setAndReturn(name);
   this.origin = setAndReturn(origin);
}

private String setAndReturn(String value) {
   if (value != null) {
      allValues.add(value);   
   }
   return value;
}

public List<String> toList() {
   return allValues;
}

```