Quick outline
- Why I tried monk mode
- My simple rules
- Tools that helped (and what didn’t)
- Week-by-week notes with real slip-ups
- A sample day
- Wins, fails, and numbers
- Tips if you want to try
Why I Even Tried This
My brain felt loud. Slack pings. News. Reels. Then I’d sit down to work and feel like a soda can after you shake it—busy, but not useful. So I tried monk mode for 30 days. Not forever. Just a reset. Short, strict, and clear.
Did it fix my whole life? No. But you know what? It cleared the fog. I could hear my thoughts again. If you want to see how someone else navigated a similar sprint, read this candid diary of going full Monk Mode for 30 days.
Incorporating insights from recent studies can enhance the understanding of the benefits and challenges associated with digital detox practices. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis found that digital detox interventions reliably reduced depressive symptoms, even though the effects on overall well-being and stress were less conclusive (PubMed). Complementing that, a comprehensive scoping review underscored how factors like personal context and implementation style shape the results of any detox, especially around anxiety and sleep quality (PubMed).
The Rules I Lived By
I kept it simple so I couldn’t wiggle out.
- 2 hours of deep work each weekday before noon (no meetings, no phone)
- No social media, except 15 minutes on Saturday afternoon
- Phone sleeps in the kitchen, face down
- Walk or run every day (20 minutes counts)
- No sugar on weekdays (weekends allowed)
- Read 20 pages a day on paper or Kindle
- Lights out by 10:30 p.m., alarm at 6:30 a.m.
Little note: I wrote these on a sticky note and slapped it on my laptop. Seeing the rules helped when my willpower felt like wet tissue. Those rules echo the approach in this no-fluff 30-day Monk Mode test run if you need another simple template.
The Gear That Actually Helped
- Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones: soft, quiet, and comfy for long blocks.
- Freedom app: blocked Instagram, YouTube, and news during work hours.
- Forest app: timer with a cute tree; silly, but it kept me honest.
- Notion: one page for tasks, one for rules, one for wins.
- Kindle Paperwhite: no alerts, just books.
- Time timer cube: I used the 30/60/90-minute sides like a game.
- YETI mug with water: because thirst is sneaky.
One unexpected leak in my attention bucket was adult browsing. To stop a “quick peek” from spiraling, I pre-emptively blocked every NSFW site I could think of—yes, even discovery hubs like MILF Maps where you can browse interactive location-based listings of mature dating prospects and plan meet-ups in seconds—useful if you’re socializing, disastrous when you’re supposed to be writing copy. Along the same lines, local classified boards such as Backpage Canton offer a constantly refreshed stream of nearby adult encounters, which can be valuable if you're looking to connect with people in your city but absolutely lethal for focus when you're in deep-work mode.
Stuff I thought would help but didn’t:
- My reMarkable tablet. I love it, but I still grabbed my phone. Paper notebook worked better for this month.
- Cold showers. I tried. I squealed. I stopped.
Week 1: The Jitters and the Kitchen Phone
Day 2, I kept reaching for a phone that wasn’t there. I’d stand in the doorway like, What did I come here for? Then I’d drink water and go back to my desk. The first deep work block felt long. Like, stare-at-the-wall long. Week 1 sounded a lot like this writer’s first-week jitters in their 45-day Monk Mode challenge.
Real win: I wrote a client brand outline in a single 90-minute block. I used Lo-fi Girl on loop, headphones on, Forest running. I finished early and walked around the block in the sun. Simple, but it felt like taking a rock out of my shoe.
Week 2: The Slump and the Cake
I crashed a bit. Day 9, I scrolled on my laptop. I told myself it was research. It wasn’t. I installed Freedom on desktop too.
Also, I ate birthday cake on a Wednesday. I felt bad for 10 minutes, then I reset. My rule became “No sugar on weekdays unless it’s an event.” That tiny change kept me sane and still strict. If you’re curious how other people handled mid-month cravings, this honest write-up, “I tried Monk Mode so you don’t have to,” has a hilarious sugar-crash story.
Week 3: The Quiet Stretch
This was the sweet spot. I did two 60-minute deep work blocks back to back and outlined a full blog series for a client. I used the Sony headphones, a timer cube, and one sticky note with “Only headlines, Kayla.”
I noticed I stopped thinking about my phone. It was like my brain learned the room had fewer doors. It calmed down. That same calm shows up around the third week in this detailed 30-day Monk Mode challenge report.
Week 4: Life Shows Up
My parents visited. I switched to half-days and moved deep work to 8–10 a.m. I missed a run, but I took a long walk with my mom. We talked about nothing in the best way. Monk mode didn’t break. It bent. A similar family-visit curveball pops up in this user's 30-day Monk Mode diary of rules, slip-ups, and real results.
What a Real Day Looked Like
- 6:30 a.m. Wake up, water, stretch
- 7:00 a.m. Oatmeal and coffee (YETI mug, still hot at 9)
- 7:30 a.m. 20-minute walk with a podcast
- 8:00–10:00 a.m. Deep work block (Freedom ON, Forest ON)
- 10:00 a.m. Snack, check messages
- 10:30–11:30 a.m. Admin stuff (email, Slack)
- 12:00 p.m. Lunch, 10 pages on Kindle
- 1:00–3:00 p.m. Calls or light work
- 3:30 p.m. Short run or stretching
- 9:45 p.m. Read 10 more pages
- 10:30 p.m. Lights out, phone in kitchen
Was every day like this? Not even close. But this was the target, and hitting 70% still moved the needle.
What Worked For Me
- Clear start: I wrote rules and told one friend who checked in. It felt real.
- One switch: phone in the kitchen. This mattered more than anything.
- Time boxing: that 2-hour morning block set the tone for the whole day.
- Gentle movement: even a 20-minute walk reset my brain.
- Tiny books: short chapters kept me reading. I finished two.
What Didn’t Work (And Kinda Hurt)
- Zero social for 30 days was too strict for me. The Saturday window felt healthy.
- Late-night “just one email” ruined sleep. I had to cut it off.
- Overplanning. I got stuck making pretty Notion pages. Pretty doesn’t ship.
For more pros and cons, this brutally honest full Monk Mode review pulls no punches.
Real Numbers From My Month
- Deep work: average 1 hour 47 minutes per weekday (tracked with Forest)
- Reading: 612 pages total (two books and one long report)
- Steps: 8,300 per day on average
- Sleep: from 6 hours 20 minutes to 7 hours 10 minutes (Apple Watch)
- Sugar slip-ups: three on weekdays; I owned them, then moved on
- Work wins: finished a client brand deck 5 days early and sent it with zero edits needed
If you’re thinking about a longer stretch, this 90-day reflection on [going Monk Mode for an entire quarter](https://www.monkify.com/i-went-monk-mode-for-90-days-how-i-did-it-