The life of a monk
Monks were men who gave their lives to God. They spent their time praying and working for their fellow men and women. They lived in monasteries, under very strict rules. All monks promised to obey their abbot or prior (the head monk). They had to promise not to marry. And they had to give away all their money and goods. The rules laid down every detail of the monks' lives.
For a large part of each day, the monks were in the choir. This was the part of the monastery church where they sang and prayed during the services. The local people were sometimes allowed to stand in the nave.
Monks also had to work. Some cooked and cleaned. Some worked in the fields. Many studied and taught. Others carefully copied out books by hand (the only way of making new books). But they all had to stop when the bell rang for prayer.
Girls might become nuns, but only if their fathers were rich. Convents got gifts from the families of new nuns. Like monks, nuns had to make promises, obey rules, and work. Many of them ran schools for girls.
Walter Robson: Medieval Britain; Oxford University Press, 1991/2000, page 20 f.