The coliving month to redefine your relationship with screens, while staying productive online.
We all need our devices to work, connect, and create. But too often, they take over: Slack pings, endless emails, the social scroll before bed. Instead of being tools, our screens have started to run the show.
This month is about reclaiming balance: keeping the laptop open for your projects, while building boundaries and habits that protect your time, focus, and energy.
Together, we’ll co-work, co-live, and co-learn how to live more intentionally in a digital world.
🎯 Work online as usual. Reclaim your time, focus, and energy. Take new habits home with you.
January 2026 • 28 days • Normandy • 10–15 location independent colivers • Work-friendly (not a detox)
A day in the life: Digital Minimalism Coliving
Picture this: it’s January 22nd; for the first time in years, you wake up without reaching for your phone.
☕️ You head downstairs for a mindful breakfast, sharing your plan for the day with other colivers. You’re still on “Do not disturb” but don’t feel anxious about it anymore.
💻 You’re heading to the coworking space for some deep, focused work, your thoughts feel sharp, and your mind is clear.
📩 Before lunch, instead of Slack or WhatsApp, you check your personal “mailbox” on your bedroom door. A handwritten note invites you to join a skillshare around the fire later tonight.
🌿 You start the afternoon with a walk around the park before reopening your laptop, grounding yourself in nature instead of notifications.
🍷 The sun sets, and you prepare your contribution for the communal potluck. The recipe comes from an old cookbook. After dinner, you join the skillshare, feeling fully present. Your phone is nowhere to be found.
🕯️ The fire crackles and candles flicker. You feel calm and held, surrounded by like-minded people. Deep in the French countryside, the stars shine bright and clear. And you actually notice them. What a start to the New Year.
Why Digital Minimalism Month is Perfect for You
1️⃣ Stay productive online, without drowning in distractions
2️⃣ Build sustainable screen habits that fit your lifestyle
3️⃣ Rediscover analog connection through notes, games, and rituals
4️⃣ Make space for creativity, rest, and play (even on workdays)
5️⃣ Change alongside others, accountability makes it easier (and more fun!)
If you’ve spent time in an independent coliving, you’ll already know why a Digital Minimalism month makes sense. Yet to experience the magic of coliving? You’re in for an incredible time. Check out some of our Google Reviews.
What to Expect During Digital Minimalism Coliving
Together, we’ll build habits we can take home, with the magic of a coliving experience:
- Deep coworking sessions with focus rituals
- Weekly family meetings to reflect and co-create
- Shared meals, slow living practices, and weekend adventures
- Anything we can imagine together ✨
And our digital minimalism roadmap, which will guide us through three phases: Learn, Play, and Dream.
LEARN (Day 1-9)
- Understand the principles of digital minimalism
- Create personal screen boundaries, supported by accountability partners
- Introduce new habits, supported by the group
- Challenge yourself with analog experiences: navigating with a paper map, cooking from a recipe book, sending postcards instead of quick texts and more
PLAY (Day 10-19)
- Enjoy evenings of non-digital games, roleplay, and a group mystery adventure
- Led by Dave, professional game designer and researcher
- Discover the psychology of play and why it matters
- Take part in a game jam to create your own games in small groups
DREAM (Day 19-27)
- Experience the Journey of a Dream: a creative and playful reconnection to your desires and your dreams.
- Guided by Sarah, experience designer at La Casita de la Magia
- An immersive and poetic time, blending playful moments, deep introspection, and powerful collective experiences.
- Through rituals, journaling prompts, playful challenges, you’ll spark your imagination, reconnect with your inner child, and let your dreams take shape.
Your future self will thank you. ✨
The sort of people who will join
We have years of experience running a coliving, so we know what usually works well.
The people who come to our Digital Minimalism Coliving will most likely be:
- Working remotely and ready to set healthier screen boundaries
- Curious about analog ways of connecting and creating
- Looking to balance productivity with rest, play, and inspiration
- Comfortable living in a community while protecting solo time
- Respectful, kind, independent, and open-minded
Unsure whether our Digital Minimalism Coliving is right for you? We totally understand – new experiences can be daunting. Send us an email on welcome(@)chateaucoliving.com with any questions, concerns, or thoughts. We’ll send you a friendly reply as soon as we can.
Meet your facilitators
Hi, I’m Jeanne, community lead at Château Coliving and digital minimalism enthusiast.
See full bio
My background is in hospitality and large-scale event production. I used to work with agencies to design and produce corporate events across Europe, experiences where every detail mattered and where I learned how to create environments that people remember. I also led trips for travel agencies, gaining hands-on experience in group dynamics, logistics, and building connections between strangers.
Since 2022, I’ve been part of the Château team, where my role is all about nurturing the community. As community lead, I focus on creating an atmosphere where you’ll feel welcome, safe, and inspired to connect, from the way we welcome you on arrival and set shared expectations, to the rituals and activities that bring us together, to helping navigate challenges so everyone can feel at home. I also share our stories with the wider world so that future colivers who resonate with our values can find us.
Alongside my work at Château, I’ve spent the past year experimenting with digital minimalism, trying out a wide range of techniques to reduce screen time, regain focus, and build healthier tech habits. I now run online events and challenges to help others do the same, bringing together my experience in community design and facilitation to support people in creating more intentional digital lives.
I’m especially excited to bring this knowledge to our Digital Minimalism Month at Château this January, weaving practical tools, gentle accountability, and a supportive environment into the coliving experience so you can reset your relationship with technology while working online, connecting more deeply with yourself and others.
Hi, I’m Dave, digital nomad, professional game designer and researcher.
See full bio
I trained as a researcher in the psychology of play and learning, and worked with many diverse organisations, including the LEGO Foundation and the UK Parliament. While I have now left academia, I still give occasional lectures on play at the University of Cambridge, where I did my PhD.
In 2019, I became a freelance designer of murder mystery and escape room board games (my published games include entries in the Unlock! series, Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective, and The Animals of Baker Street). That career change allowed me to become location-independent and I discovered the nomad community.
I quickly discovered how playful and adventurous nomads are – I can always find gamers and game-testers while traveling the world!
Since then, my games have gone on to sell millions of copies world-wide and I feel very grateful that a job that I love is continuing to support my traveling lifestyle. Recently, I have begun to experiment with running live game experiences at events such as weddings, festivals, and cruises.
I tested an early version of a mystery for a wedding when I first visited Château Coliving in October 2024, and the completed mystery will be run as part of Digital Minimalism Month.
I have found I really enjoy creating immersive experiences for people to feel the magic that play can bring into our adult lives, and am excited to make that happen in the chateau!
Hi, I’m Sarah, experience designer and founder of La Casita de la Magia!
See full bio
Since my first solo trip in Latin America at 18, I’ve carried the dream of creating a place where people from around the world could gather, share authentic moments, and feel inspired. Over the years, that vision has grown into La Casita de la Magia: a universe of playful and transformative experiences (and soon a magical place) where people can slow down, reconnect with their inner child, and dare to dream again.
I see life as a game: filled with challenges, surprises, and magical moments. That’s why I design creative, poetic experiences and collective games that spark joy, catalyze transformation, and invite people to visualize and reconnect with their deepest desires. My mission is to create meaningful experiences, rich in emotion, that help us rediscover the beauty of life and the power of dreaming together.
Following the signs of life, I felt guided to Château Coliving in early 2025, where I spent six months working as a Community Facilitator. Those months confirmed how much I love weaving creativity into daily life, fostering community, and guiding transformative experiences.
I’m now so excited to return in January to co-facilitate the Digital Minimalism Month and to invite you to experience the Dream Chapter: a creative and playful journey to reconnect with your dreams. Can’t wait to meet all of you!
FAQs
Will I still be able to work online?
Yes, absolutely. Most of our colivers are remote workers or entrepreneurs. You’ll keep your usual work schedule, using your laptop as needed. This month is about setting healthier boundaries with technology, not cutting you off from your job.
Do I have to give up my phone completely?
Not at all. This isn’t a digital detox or retreat. You’ll still have access to your devices, but we’ll encourage you to experiment with new habits, such as leaving your phone in another room during meals, using paper maps on a weekend trip, or writing notes instead of sending texts. The idea is to become more intentional with our screen use: setting boundaries, experimenting with analog alternatives, and supporting each other in building healthier digital habits.
What if I rely heavily on my phone for work?
That’s okay. Nobody will take your devices away. You’ll learn to create boundaries that work for you, maybe silencing notifications during deep work, or experimenting with set times for checking messages. The goal is balance, not restriction.
What does the program look like?
The month is structured around three themes: Learn, Play, Dream.
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Learn: building sustainable boundaries with screens, supported by challenges and accountability partners.
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Play: a week of games and creative fun, led by Dave, a professional game designer.
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Dream: an imaginative and creative week with Sarah from La Casita de la Magia, using playful challenges & collective creations to reconnect with your dreams and your inner child.
All of this fits around your normal work hours, so you can balance productivity with community life.
Do I need experience with digital minimalism to join?
Nope! Whether you’ve already experimented with screen-free practices or this is your first time questioning your digital habits, you’ll be supported. The month is about learning together, not being perfect.
Is this a retreat or a bootcamp?
Neither. This is coliving: a mix of everyday life, work, and community. Think of it as living together with people who share the same goal: exploring how to live more freely, creatively, and intentionally in a digital world.
Could I attend for just a few days, or a week?
For any logistical questions such as facilities, travel, and meals, please visit our General FAQ section here.
⚠️ Important Disclaimer
This themed coliving month is not designed to treat digital addiction. We cannot provide medical, psychological, or therapeutic support for cases of clinical dependency. If you are struggling with compulsive or addictive behaviors around technology, we encourage you to seek professional guidance.
Our focus is on exploring healthier digital habits as a community, sharing strategies, and experimenting with new ways of living and working — not on providing treatment or therapy.
Are you ready to keep working online, without letting screens take over your life?
Book here
We’re so excited to welcome you to Château for this experience!
Use the calendar feature below to select January 4, 2025.
Deposit payment of 50% is required upon reservation and final payment will be charged on the day of arrival. Extras and costs accumulated during the stay will be paid at the end of the experience.
Questions? Email us at welcome(@)chateaucoliving.com.
Minimum number of 10 participants is required. If we are not able to reach this minimum 45 days prior to the starting date, the participants who have paid the deposit will be fully refunded or credited for a non-curated stay at Chateau coliving during the same dates in order to avoid loss of transportation tickets.
We understand that committing to a month can be a challenge. However, based on our experience with similar events, we know that connecting with others and creating community is a crucial part of making the trip worthwhile.
If there’s anything we can do to make the month’s commitment more possible for you, let us know. We often have colivers joining us who work across timezones, for example, or who bring their pets, partners, or children.
Of course, if travel arrangements require you to arrive a day later or leave a day earlier, that’s totally fine.