# Shallow work, explained

URL: https://gocutline.com/glossary/shallow-work/

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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Facts: https://gocutline.com/facts/ · Updated 2026-10-23