I’ve done a few periods of monk mode over the last few years, and every time I make massive progress on my goals, I refine my understanding of what monk mode is and how to do it better. I did monk mode to learn Tibetan in Dharamshala and write for Face Dragons before the site made money; I’ve done monk mode to help me complete software development projects, focus on training, and write my first book. Each time I learned new monk mode best practices. I’ve boiled down those lessons and created these monk mode rules. Follow them and find success.
Read my Ultimate Guide to Monk Mode f you don’t know what monk mode is.
Let’s dive into the rules of Monk Mode, offering a roadmap for anyone ready to reclaim their time, master their habits, and unlock their potential. You don’t need to retreat to a monastery or abandon modern life completely. You just need to follow some simple Monk Mode Rules.
1. Set a Small Number of Goals Before You Start
During monk mode, you’ll cut things out of your life, wake up earlier, and fuel your body in a way that gives you tons of energy, so you must know where to put that energy and what to do with all that time. Setting a goal must be done before you start monk mode. It’s the most important rule for success. For many people, it will be a project you want to make massive progress on and are willing to dedicate this part of your life to. Here are some great monk mode goals and ideas:
- Write a book
- Build a Business
- Learn a language Learn an instrument
- Complete a coding project
- Create a product
- Training camp (for martial arts, sports, a marathon, Iron Man, etc.)
- Master a new skill
- Launch a creative project
If you still need help, I made a list of Monk Mode Ideas just for you!
2. Wake Up Before Sunrise
The whole point of Monk Mode is to start focusing on something important to you, something you want to make massive progress on in a short space of time, so every minute counts. Benedictine monks wake up early to start praying, Buddhist monks wake up so they can meditate, and if you’ve got something worth waking up for, wake up earlier to do more.
Studies have repeatedly found that the early risers outperform those who wake up later, especially when it comes to tasks that require focused attention or memory. So when is a good time to wake up? As early as you can while still getting enough sleep. It’s not even that demanding! For most people, it means going to bed at 10 pm and waking up at 5.00. That means 7 hours of sleep, and you wake up two hours earlier than everyone else.
3. Create a Simple Morning Routine
Filling your mornings up with fancy morning routines can be tempting, but resist that urge. Monk Mode morning routines are simple for a reason: they promote focus. You don’t want to jump from journaling to meditating, exercising, or cooking breakfast before starting your main task – you should get to it as quickly as possible. There are plenty of morning routine ideas to choose from, here’s what my monk mode morning routine often looks like:
- Coffee
- Make a list of things to do
- Start working on my MIT (most important task)
I leave the workouts and cold showers for later when my mind is tired so I can work while I’m fresh.
4. Remove Social Media Apps
This monk mode rule is non-negotiable.
It’s just not monk mode if you’re checking Facebook and scrolling through Instagram. Monk Mode is about restricting yourself, almost to the point of poverty, for a greater good. So before you start, go through your phone and delete those apps. Android and iOS will show you which apps take most of your time; delete those too!
5. Block Out Your Time & Schedule Your Tasks
If you’re a frequent reader of Face Dragons, you’ll know that I use GTD as the core of my task management system. And in the almost 25 years since its publication, nothing comes close for anyone wanting greater control and flexibility over their life. But I don’t use GTD during monk mode.
Why? Because Getting Things Done is perfect for managing your entire life and giving you direction, but monk mode isn’t about balance; it’s about unreasonable focus on a small part of your life for massive progress in the short term.
So during monk mode, I try to keep every day the same. I block out my time with a simple timetable hour by hour, focusing most of my time on my MIT.
6. No On-Screen Entertainment
If you must work while doing Monk Mode, it might be understandable that you need to use a screen, but there’s no excuse to sit watching Netflix, YouTube or playing video games all night. It’s not that those things are bad, they’re just not Monk Mode. Remember, Monk Mode is about sacrifice.
7. Exercise Everyday
If you’re using Monk Mode to get a jump start on building a new business or to write your first book, you might wonder why exercising every day is a Monk mode rule. Wouldn’t that time be better spent just working? The research says no, you’ll do better quality work and more of it if you spend some time working out each day. This study from Sweden says it all: “Devoting work time to physical activity can lead to higher productivity.”
You Don’t need to go crazy in the gym every day; that will only leave you exhausted and broken down. Instead, include some active rest ideas into your week, like stretching or some lightweight routines, and your body will thank you!
At the end of last year, my boss created a 25,000 push-up challenge for 2025. Usually, I work out in the evenings, but for this challenge, I’ve been adding push-ups throughout my day, and it’s making a huge difference to how I feel. I can feel it’s increasing my confidence and giving me an extra boost of get-up-and-go energy.
8. Work On Your Most Important Goal Everyday
It might seem obvious, but Monk Mode isn’t a job, you don’t get weekends off.
9. No Processed Foods
cut out all foods with more than one ingredient. If you’re ordering McDonalds for lunch, it’s not Monk Mode. Yes, you’ll need to prepare your meals every day, but you should have the time to do that. The simple food will boost how you feel and save you money.
You shouldn’t come out of monk mode feeling run down and like you need a vacation. You should feel like every aspect of your life has improved, and sticking with clean, whole foods is a great way to support that.
11. No Alcohol, No Drugs, NoFap
If you’re addicted or find it hard to stop any of these habits, you should focus on quitting before throwing yourself into monk mode. Monk mode is hard. It involves depriving yourself of many things you like and working more than usual. It will place extra stress and strain on your willpower, so it’s not the best time to also try to quit a bad habit, especially if you’re facing addiction.
On the other hand, if you’re a casual drinker or someone who dabbles in recreational drugs, monk mode might be a great way to help you break your bad habit and turn it into something positive. One of the hardest things about breaking a bad habit is finding something else to do with all the free time you now have. If you spend most evenings drinking and playing video games, you need something to do during the evening when you quit. Otherwise, the temptation to do what’s familiar will be too great for your willpower to overcome.
During monk mode, you know what to do, so that is no longer a problem.
12. Spend on Essentials Only
If you don’t need it, don’t buy it. Self-sacrifice, self-restraint, self-denial. That’s the mantra for Monk Mode.
13. Avoid Negative People
Limit socializing as much as you can during monk mode, but remember this isn’t hermit monk mode, so you can still meet up with your friends and family. Just prioritize your social life to keep it in line with your goals. Going to see a trusted friend who can give you their opinion on your latest manuscript or coding project could make a huge difference to your success while meeting friends in the bar, wasting money, and giving yourself a hangover the next day – probably not.
Most importantly, however, you should avoid those toxic people in your life who bring you down and make you feel worse – you know who they are.
14. Set a Start and End Date
Setting a start and end date for your monk mode is one of the most important rules. It will determine whether your monk mode experience is a success or failure. Here’s why.
Don’t start monk mode on a whim, you need to prepare first, or you are setting yourself up for failure.
- If you haven’t decided what you will work on during monk mode
- If you haven’t thrown out all your junk food
- If you haven’t bought healthy alternatives
- If you haven’t told your friends and family you won’t be available
- If you haven’t decided on the books you’ll read, the things you’ll learn, the workouts you’ll do
Monk mode will fail. Don’t spend your first week of monk mode deciding these things instead of working on your MIT.
Tell Me How Your Monk Mode Went
We’ve become a generation drowning in distractions, notification pings, and constant attention-demanding apps that tempt us to swipe down endless rabbit holes. We’ve lost something. Focus.
If we could only find our ability to focus and reclaim the silence we’ve lost, something transformative would result. Monk Mode is the answer. An ancient practice that will defeat distraction and change the track you’re on.
Monk Mode isn’t just a productivity hack; it’s a philosophy of intentional living. It challenges our modern obsession with busyness and instead asks a simple but profound question: What truly matters?
I’d love to hear how your monk mode went, so when you’ve finished and completed your monk mode projects, let me know on X!
Meet Gregory, a writer and the brains behind Face Dragons. He's the go-to guy for getting things done.
Gregory's been living the digital nomad life in Asia for as long as anyone can remember, helping clients smash their goals. He writes on topics like software, personal knowledge management (PKM), and personal development. When he's not writing, you'll catch him at the local MMA gym, nose buried in a book, or just chilling with the family.
