Something like the workload equivalent of the microphone screech is happening in modern knowledge work. When the friction involved in asking someone to do something was removed, the number of these requests spiraled out of control. I frantically try to grab other people’s time and attention to make up for the time and attention they’ve already grabbed from me. Soon everyone is like Brigid Schulte, up late at night, drowning in the “frantic flotsam of daily stuff.”
