deep work
/diːp wɜːrk/
CommonConcentrated, distraction-free work on cognitively demanding tasks.
The term comes from Cal Newport's book of the same name and carries a slightly self-improvement tone. People who talk about 'doing deep work' are usually also critiquing shallow work and meeting culture.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | need 3 hours of deep work to finish this. please no calls. | Requesting uninterrupted time to complete a demanding task. | x, 2023 |
| 02 | you can't do deep work in 20-minute chunks between meetings. it doesn't work that way. | Deep work requires large continuous blocks, not fragmented time. | x, 2024 |
| 03 | went phone-free for 2 hours, did more deep work than the whole rest of the week combined | Eliminating distractions enabled concentrated output that exceeded fragmented days. | reddit, 2023 |
| 04 | reading cal newport made me realize i hadn't done actual deep work in months | The book prompted self-reflection about the quality of recent work. | reddit, 2022 |
Use it when
- You are doing work that requires sustained concentration.
- Describing or advocating for a working style that minimizes distraction.
- Explaining why you were unreachable for a stretch of time.
Do not use it when
- You are just doing any task at work.
- You are responding to messages or in meetings.Use “shallow work” instead.
Deep work vs shallow work
deep work
Deep work is cognitively demanding, requires full attention, and produces high-value output.
VS
shallow-work
Shallow work is administrative, interruptible, and can be done while distracted.
Origin and context
Term coined and popularized by author Cal Newport in his 2016 book 'Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World'. The concept spread into workplace and productivity culture, especially after remote work intensified distraction.
- First seen
- 2016
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/deep-workUpdated: 2026-08-29License: CC BY 4.0