This is the term I use when too many small things come my way. I then spend my entire day successfully getting two-thirds of those things done, and creating an unruly ‘to do’ list for the next day, after staying at work a little longer than I hoped.
I haven’t done it yet this school year, but today I’m blocking some time in my calendar for a project I’m hoping to get done in the coming weeks. It was a September goal that never happened.
It’s quite apparent to me that unless I slot time in for visioning and projects that move my schools forward, the paper cut tasks win me over and consume my day. Blocking this time off won’t magically create more time in my calendar. I’m not going to suddenly have less little things to do… but I’m not going to go home feeling like I spent the day getting paper cuts. I’ll feel more like I had a productive day rather than just a busy day.
I know that when I do these things that I want to get done, (which I know are good for my school), then I don’t go home feeling like I want to describe my day as ‘death by a thousand paper cuts’. I know that I will feel a lot more like my day accomplished something beyond the many little (but important) things land on my desk.
Sounds like you need to stay away from all the paper!
Important vs. urgent … difficult distinction but one that can make a difference to your day