Glossary
What is shallow work?
Shallow work is non-demanding, logistical work that is often done while distracted. It is easy to replicate and creates little lasting value, such as email, scheduling, and routine admin.
- Coined by: Cal Newport
- Key source: his 2016 book Deep Work
- Opposite of: deep work
- Examples: email, scheduling, status meetings, admin
- Main risk: it expands to fill the whole day
Where the term comes from
Cal Newport defined shallow work in his 2016 book Deep Work as the counterpart to deep work. He splits effort into two kinds: deep work that is hard, valuable, and hard to copy, and shallow work that is logistical, low-concentration, and easy to do while distracted. Most jobs contain plenty of both.
Why it matters
Shallow work is sneaky because it feels productive. You answer thirty messages and call it a day, but nothing that actually mattered moved forward. Left unchecked, shallow tasks expand to fill every hour and crowd out the deep work that creates real value. The fix is to cap the shallows and protect the deep blocks first.
Related terms
Shallow work is the opposite of deep work. It often comes bundled with context switching, since shallow tasks pull you between things and break your focus.
Common questions
What are examples of shallow work?
Email, scheduling, status meetings, routine admin, and replying to messages.
Is shallow work bad?
No, some is necessary. The problem is letting it fill the whole day and crowd out deep work.
How do you reduce shallow work?
Batch it into set windows, cap your meetings, and protect deep blocks before the shallows can claim them.
Protect the deep, cap the shallow
GoFlow is a free focus app with a deep work timer and a built-in website blocker to guard your real blocks.
Open GoFlow free