Glossary
Shallow work, explained
Shallow work is necessary but low-focus work that can be done while distracted: email, scheduling, admin, most status updates. Cal Newport uses the term as the opposite of deep work.
What it means
Shallow work is not bad; it keeps things running. The problem is that it arrives constantly and feels urgent, so without limits it spreads across the whole day and squeezes out the work that matters.
How to do it in a calendar
- Give shallow work two or three fixed blocks a day, for example 11:30 and 16:00.
- Answer messages in those blocks, not between them.
- Keep the blocks short (20 to 45 minutes) so the work stays shallow.
An example
A founder checks email at 11:30 and 16:30 for 30 minutes each, and turns notifications off outside them. Response time goes from minutes to hours, and almost nobody notices.
Common mistakes
- Treating every message as urgent. Most can wait four hours.
- No end time. An admin block without an end becomes the afternoon.
Questions
Is email always shallow work?
Mostly. Writing an important proposal by email can be deep work; clearing the inbox is shallow.
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