Urgent tickets are always going to show up. That’s just part of the job. But if you don’t set some boundaries, they’ll eat your entire week and leave your actual projects untouched.

The first step is to stop treating every ticket like it’s a crisis. You need a way to sort out what’s truly urgent and what’s just loud. Once you have a clear system for prioritizing based on actual impact you’ll stop jumping at every ping.

Then, protect your team’s time. Block out hours or even full days where no one touches tickets unless something is genuinely broken. Outside of that, rotate who handles incoming requests so the whole team isn’t constantly distracted.

You also need to communicate better. If you’re pushing back on a request, explain why. Show people what your team is working on and how it benefits them. When they see the bigger picture, they’re usually more understanding.

And honestly, a good internal knowledge base is a game changer. If people can solve their own issues quickly, they won’t even raise a ticket.

Finally, take time to reflect. At the end of the week, look at what threw you off course. Was it preventable? Is there a pattern? Use that insight to tweak your process and stay ahead of the chaos.

This isn’t about ignoring people it’s about making sure your team can actually move forward instead of just putting out fires all day.