Word meaning an assortment of boring, small, less important tasks to accomplish
In a day, I usually have a few small tasks that are necessary to do and somewhat consequential but easy and short to accomplish and are kind of a distraction from the main work I hope to accomplish over the course of a day. I'm sure I'm not the only one with such tasks.
Examples are: checking and replying to emails, planning and scheduling activities, delivering items to colleagues, briefly following up on previous requests, etc.
What's a word to describe such tasks? If it matters, I'm looking for a word that describes putting all such tasks together in my schedule so I can do them back-to-back at the same time, a time which I have isolated from my main, more important work.
Edit: these tasks aren't always routine. "Errands" would be an accurate term to describe some of them, but not all. There are some routine tasks and other non-routine errands. And the tasks are not all unimportant. I'd say most of them are important or semi-important, it's just that it's a simple matter to accomplish them.
Second Edit: A lot of the suggestions I've received seem to focus on the tasks being boring or dull. These tasks are not necessarily boring or dull, in fact many of them are fun or interesting. The main feature of these tasks is that they are small, easy tasks that get in my way of accomplishing the big things I actually hope to accomplish in a given day. They are not necessarily related to the big things I hope to accomplish.
The closest words that I have come up with or have been suggested so far are: menial, trivial, and errand. What is a menial, trivial, non-routine, errand-like task that doesn't necessarily involve going out (as the word "errand" implies, at least for me)?
Solution 1:
Chore — ODO
noun
1. A routine task, especially a household one
"her illness made even daily chores like shopping difficult"1.1. A tedious but necessary task
"he sees interviews as a chore"
"For me, it's so much more of a chore or a necessity than a pleasure."
"This seems strange to some, but why should we not make something fun out of a necessary chore?"
Solution 2:
Since you've clarified they are not always routine/scheduled, you may be interested in mundane
Dull or ordinary
or menial work
Of or relating to a job or work regarded as servile
Solution 3:
A couple words that come to mind:
trivial
adj: Of little value or importance
And, somewhat related, minutia (also minutiae)
noun: The small, precise, or trivial details of something:
I have always been fond of administrivia, as Dan Bron mentioned in his comment, but I'm not sure if it's a generally accepted word (despite appearing in the ODO). It definitely has a disparaging connotation.
Solution 4:
A possible answer is 'grunt work':
work that is repetitious, often physically exhausting, and boring.
Note that "physically exhausting" doesn't have to imply that the work itself requires extraordinary physical effort, only that one is exhausted afterward, which can easily happen with work that doesn't inspire the worker.
Solution 5:
Try hackwork.
ODO
dull, routine work