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“Monk mode”, or “monk mode” in French, is a working method that is on the rise. It would make it possible to gain in efficiency and productivity thanks to a state of almost monastic concentration.
Phone ringing, the noise of emails sent and received, the hubbub of the open space, coffee breaks… Distractions, which are omnipresent at work, represent a barrier to concentration and efficiency. On TikTok, a working method is all the rage: “monk mode”. So much so that the hashtag #monkmode has 80 million views. But is it really effective?
What is “monk mode”?
“Monk mode”, or “monk mode” in French, is a working method which promotes concentration and therefore, efficiency and productivity. The idea? Adopt more or less the same habits as a monk. On paper, this may seem impossible. But it’s just about taking inspiration from their lifestyle when you work, at home or in business. In practice, we cut ourselves off from all potential distractions to avoid losing our concentration and thus, optimize your working time.
How to set up monk mode?
In practice, this involves putting your phone in airplane mode, deactivating notifications (newspapers, emails, social networks and other applications) and unsubscribing from all newsletters. Another very effective way to isolate yourself from noise and distractions is to use earplugs. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that people looking to contact us will leave us a message if it’s really important. The same goes for emails: yes, responsiveness is appreciated but our interlocutors do not necessarily expect a response within the next quarter of an hour. Often, it can wait. But “monk mode” doesn’t stop there, lifestyle also plays a vital role.
The online media ADN specifies “we therefore only keep the essentials: meditation and 30 minutes of exercise every morning”. Some people go even further by putting their social life on hold and avoiding consuming coffee, alcohol and sugar which disrupt concentration.
Good or bad idea ?
The opinion of Amandine Ruas, certified life coach and therapist
A response to over-demand
As in any societal situation where we reach an extreme, individuals, to protect themselves, react by proposing another extreme. “Today, employees suffer enormously from overload. We are constantly in demand on our phone, our mailbox, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, social networks and sometimes the company’s internal chat. However, when we have to work on in-depth projects that require a certain level of perspective, reflection, writing and strategy, being constantly interrupted constitutes a waste of time and concentration which prevents you from being effective at work and creates psychological exhaustion, immediately poses Amandine Ruas. In this context, it seems natural and healthy to want to step back. In the event of psychological exhaustion linked to overload, it is very important to allow yourself 1/2 day per week or even a full day during which you turn off notifications and the telephone, when our job allows it of course.
Find the happy medium
But if creating disconnection times is essential to gain efficiency, nothing forces us to fall into extremes like monk mode which offers three months of isolation. “Do we really have to do things to ourselves like a cold shower in the morning? To force ourselves to cut off all contact and all pleasure? asks the life coach. Because, human beings are social beings who need connections and who also need to please themselves.. In other words, it all depends on the context. For example, if you have a book to write and you go to isolate yourself for 15 days, okay. Removing yourself from the world proves very useful for recharging and coming back with even more perspective but not to an extreme.”
A question of personality
The success of this mode of operation also depends on the personality of the individual. If this may suit a rather solitary and introverted subject, it may not suit an extroverted person for whom the method can be painful or even counterproductive because it recharges itself and creates its creativity in the interaction. “To conclude, monk mode is a somewhat extreme reaction to a situation of overload that makes us suffer. Hence the need to ask ourselves the question: to what extent can we find a happy medium? What is corresponds to us? Because good advice for one individual is not necessarily good advice for another”, summarizes our interlocutor.
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