Deep Work vs Shallow Work: Optimising Your Day with Your Body's Rhythms in Mind

We all know the feeling—you sit down at your desk, ready to tackle your to-do list, but your focus slips away the minute you start. Maybe an email pops up. Maybe you spend 30 minutes ‘checking in’ on Teams or Slack, or worse, you get sucked into a rabbit hole of social media. What started as a day with grand plans to get things done turns into a series of small, shallow tasks that make you feel busy but not genuinely productive.

If you’ve been struggling with this, let me introduce you to the concept of deep work vs shallow work, and how understanding these two modes of work—alongside your body’s natural rhythm—can transform how you approach your workday, whether you’re at home or the office.

What’s the Difference Between Deep Work and Shallow Work?

Deep work refers to focused, uninterrupted work on tasks that require intense concentration. These are the activities that push your cognitive abilities to the limit, such as writing, designing, coding, or solving complex problems. Deep work is where you get your real value—where innovation and high-quality results come from.

Shallow work, on the other hand, is the stuff that’s easy, less cognitively demanding, and often done while multitasking. Think: answering straightforward emails, attending status update meetings, filling out routine paperwork, or even organising files. Shallow work doesn’t demand deep focus, but it’s still necessary to keep things moving.

The key to getting the most out of your day is knowing when to lean into deep work and when to crank through shallow work. Here’s where it gets interesting—your body and brain are already trying to help you with this.

Enter Biology: Your Circadian Rhythm and Focus

You’ve probably heard of circadian rhythms—your body’s natural 24-hour cycle that affects everything from your energy levels to your mood. But did you know these rhythms can also determine your peak productivity hours? Most people are at their sharpest during certain times of the day and sluggish during others.

For the average person, the morning (around 9 a.m. to noon) tends to be the best time for deep work. That’s when your brain’s ability to focus is at its peak. You’ve (hopefully) just had a night’s sleep, your stress hormones like cortisol are balanced, and your brain is ready to take on complex tasks.

By mid-afternoon, though, your energy and focus naturally start to wane. This is when shallow work comes in handy. Instead of forcing yourself to concentrate on deep tasks when your brain is tired, take this time for easier, more routine tasks like responding to emails or attending less mentally demanding meetings. By aligning your work with your biological rhythms, you’re setting yourself up to be much more productive.

Common Pitfalls in Hybrid Working

When you’re working remotely or on a hybrid schedule, the temptation to blend deep and shallow work throughout the day can be strong. Without the structure of an office environment, it’s easy to get distracted or feel the need to be available for every little ping and notification. But constantly switching between deep and shallow work can be a productivity killer. Here’s why:

Context switching: Every time you shift from deep work to shallow work (or vice versa), your brain has to reorient itself. This context switching wastes cognitive energy, making it harder to regain focus on deep tasks.

Lack of boundaries: Working from home often blurs the lines between work and rest. You might find yourself checking emails late at night or squeezing in shallow work when you should be relaxing. This not only affects your productivity but also your mental health.

Misplaced urgency: Shallow work often feels urgent, even when it’s not. Responding to emails or messages might seem like it’s keeping you on top of things, but it can eat into your precious deep work time, leaving you with nothing substantial done by the end of the day.

How to Optimise Your Workday for Productivity

To make the most of both deep and shallow work, you need a strategy. Here are some tips to help you structure your day, respect your biological rhythms, and minimise distractions.

Time Blocking

The simplest way to ensure you get enough deep work time is by scheduling it. Set aside a block of time—ideally in the morning, when you’re most alert—for focused, uninterrupted deep work. Turn off notifications, close unnecessary tabs, and let your team know you’re in focus mode. Use shallow work hours in the afternoon for things like responding to emails, attending meetings, or handling administrative tasks.

Leverage Your Ultradian Rhythm

In addition to circadian rhythms, our bodies also have shorter cycles called ultradian rhythms—about 90-120 minutes of high focus followed by 20-30 minutes of rest. During your deep work time, try working in these cycles. Set a timer for 90 minutes of focused work, then take a short break to recharge. This is a natural way to maintain energy and focus throughout the day.

Batch Your Shallow Work

Instead of sprinkling shallow tasks throughout he day, try batching them. Dedicate a specific block of time (maybe after lunch or mid-afternoon) to handle emails, administrative work, and routine tasks all at once. This way, you’re not interrupting your deep work with constant context switching.

Limit Distractions

Distractions are the enemy of deep work, especially when you’re working from home. Close your door, put your phone in another room, and do whatever you can to create a distraction-free environment. If you work in a hybrid setup, consider using your office days for meetings and collaborative work, reserving your home days for deep focus.

Listen to Your Body

While the general advice is to do deep work in the morning and shallow work in the afternoon, listen to your body’s signals. If you’re more of a night owl and feel your best in the late afternoon, structure your day accordingly. The key is to recognise when you’re naturally more focused and when you need to take it easy.

Create Rituals to Start and End Deep Work

One trick that helps me dive into deep work faster is creating a start-of-work ritual. This could be something as simple as brewing a cup of coffee, putting on noise-cancelling headphones, or turning on a specific playlist. These small actions signal to your brain that it’s time to focus. Similarly, create an end-of-work ritual to help you transition out of focus mode, such as taking a short walk or jotting down notes for where you’ll pick up tomorrow.

Overcoming Hybrid Work Challenges

Now, let's talk about how these principles can specifically help you overcome some common hybrid work challenges.

The "Always-On" Feeling

In a hybrid environment, you might feel pressure to be always available, especially if your team is spread across different time zones. To combat this, set boundaries. Communicate your deep work hours to your team, so they know when you’re focusing and when you’ll be available to respond. You might also want to experiment with ‘asynchronous communication’ tools, where people don’t expect immediate replies, allowing you to work more effectively.

Remote Distractions

Whether it’s household chores, kids, or the lure of Netflix, distractions are plentiful when working from home. My solution? Treat your deep work sessions like important meetings. Block them off in your calendar, and respect that time just as you would if you were meeting with a client or colleague.

Challenge: Lack of Structure

Without the natural rhythm of an office day—commutes, lunch breaks, and the general buzz of colleagues—it can be easy to lose track of time. To maintain structure, make sure you’re doing your time-blocking and setting specific start and end times for your day. This not only keeps you productive but helps prevent burnout by ensuring you have enough downtime.

Final Thoughts

Hybrid working offers a unique opportunity to craft a workday that suits your natural rhythms and preferences. By understanding the difference between deep work and shallow work, and aligning these with your biological cycles, you can dramatically improve your productivity and work-life balance.

Remember, the goal isn’t to eliminate shallow work—after all, it’s necessary to keep things moving—but to recognise when and how to use both types of work effectively. By harnessing the power of deep work during your peak hours and tackling shallow tasks during low-energy periods, you can make every day a productive one.

If you take away just one thing from this post, it’s this: work smarter, not harder. Listen to your body, respect your rhythms, and create a working day that works for you, not against you.