Everyone Loves Deep Work. Here’s Why Shallow Work Isn’t Too Bad Either.





We’ve all heard some version of this advice. HBR articles, in LinkedIn guru posts, in Twitter swipe files, in TikTok productivity porn. The goal — to take a hatchet to all the tiny, boring, soul-sucking little tasks that stand between you and the real thing…deep work! Because deep work *cue reverential hush* is what makes the world go round.

Don’t get me wrong. Focused creative and/or analytical work is critical — no matter what field you work in.

But the deep work evangelists online seem to think we all have outsourcing agencies in our back pocket. As for elimination — well, unless AI becomes much more human than it is now, those emails aren’t gonna write themselves.

Me personally? I’m a big fan of the little tasks — the wheels that keep the big machine turning. Plus (and this is something the evangelists gloss over), those little things have to be done before your mind is free enough for deep work to happen.

And ever since I accepted this fact rather than forcing myself to write fiction with seven pending messages in my head, I’ve been much more at peace.