7 deep work vs shallow work examples

Deep work vs shallow work, how do they compare? Find examples of each, with productivity tips. Content creators, as well as everyone else, gain.

Being a solopreneur, I also blog and vlog. My content creation topics are often about productivity, time management, and working smarter. My readers and social media followers also tend to be other bloggers and content creators.

When I first started working solo, I saw the need for better productivity techniques. I realized that I was in charge of my goal-setting and progress. I started my blog to share my tips and experiences with others.

Distractions happen at any time. These can delay your work and waste your time. Different types of tasks require different levels of concentration.

What does deep work mean?

To me, the terms are rather self-explanatory. The first suggests deep concentration tasks. As for the second, lighter tasks that don’t require full focus. Either way, producing quality results is essential.

More about it in a Wikipedia article:

“Newport used the term “deep work”, that existed in a psychological [11] or religious sense,[12] in his book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World (2016).”

My tip number 1

Deep work vs multitasking? Better focus and not get distracted. Read more about multitasking in my other post.

Multitasking

Deep work vs shallow work

In this blog post, I’ll illustrate the 2 types through content creation examples. These include blogging article tasks, as well as social media tasks. The idea can be applied to, generally, any other relevant roles as well.

My 7 content creator task examples:

Researching
Drafting
Proofreading
Social media publishing
Vlogging
Promoting
Newsletter emails

Deep works:

Researching
Drafting
Proofreading

Shallow works:

Social media publishing
Vlogging
Promoting
Newsletter emails

You may wish to note that there’s no strict rule about the way I grouped the 2. They’re examples that could be the same for you or not. For example, if you only need some brief and light online research, it could be done without much focus. On the other hand, heavy and detailed research at a higher level often needs much attention and focus without distractions.

How I tackle them

The level of concentration might differ from person to person. However, the nature of tasks often indicates which type they belong to. I take examples of how I tackle them in the context of better productivity.

Researching

When I find ideas for my articles, I also use relevant tools. However, my articles are original and I put hours in each one of them. My level of concentration for articles tends to be higher than for social media posts.

Drafting

My articles take longer to finish, compared to my Instagram reels. I can create a whole reel in under an hour, not a blog post. Shooting video reels is also fun and doesn’t require total perfection.

My tip number 2

Deep work vs Pomodoro? You can ‘deep work with Pomodoro’. Enjoy the productivity method.

Pomodoro Technique

Proofreading

Checking grammar and spelling mistakes in an article naturally needs more focus than social media. I use free automated platforms to support me. Going through the text, I see if there’s a good flow of ideas.

For social media, text content is much shorter. However, I need to also pay attention to my video content. The text on the video, especially the hook needs good checking.

Finalizing my drafts is rather similar to the other tasks. An article is more work, often being around 1000 words, if not more. My reel captions are short. Shooting short videos is fun, although editing can take some more time. Overall, finalizing my articles takes at least 1 hour before publishing. On the other hand, doing the same for my reels takes me only minutes.

Social media publishing

Social media publishing for my blog content is normally in the form of shares. I share newly published blog posts on X (formerly Twitter) and reshare older updated ones. On Instagram, I can only share my blog links in my bio and stories. My reels are also niche-relevant.

Once more, harder work for the articles than repurposing on social media. Generally, Pinterest is better designed to drive traffic to linked sites. On the other hand, Instagram works by keeping users within the app.

Vlogging

I currently make more faceless reels than showing my face. I do, however, appear in some reels. Instagram b-roll reels are more casual than professional long-form YouTube videos.

Unless you aim for high-level, professional-quality videos, they’re quick to make. Instagram reels, YouTube shorts, and TikTok don’t require much focus. They’re informal, so show the real you, as being authentic pays off.

Promoting

You can promote your content in various ways. These include organic and paid methods. I’ve only used free methods so far. You can opt for paid options if they support your strategy.

I share my articles on social media, to inform followers of what’s new. I also use SEO. Aside from using search engines, users also search on social media. Once more, the tasks that involve promoting content tend to be shallow.

Newsletter emails

Last but not least, promote your content to your email list. They’re your best leads. Those who opted in to receive your updates trusted you with their contact details.

I spend some time creating my original emails. If you use AI tools to generate them, it might be quicker. However, it is hard to build a connection without your personal touch to it. Once more, this task doesn’t require lots of focus.

My tip number 3

Deep work vs flow state. Can you do deep work with music? Yes, as long as it’s calm music, and conducive to concentration. Read about getting in a flow.

Flow state

Conclusion

My article highlighted deep work vs shallow work through my content creation examples. It gives a better idea of both types of tasks. Everyone gains from leveraging best practices, such as Pomodoro, and a better flow state. Also avoid multitasking, as far as possible.

Featured image:

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com