Is it common to allow professional compulsory activities over personal activities? Professional compulsory activities I am referring here falls into the following two classes:

The activities that need to be done very quickly.

Activities given by supervisor to participate in a voluntary activity.


I frequently encounter the professional compulsory activities. Former are more frequent than later.
Examples for first one includes: Evaluating copies of students within a day, preparing teaching material for students of a course took by my supervisor within a day, preparing grade sheets within half day etc.,
Examples for second one includes: Attending to an outstation workshop for a few days, attending webinars at non-lab timings etc.,
The issue involved in allowing them is break in my personal time table and sacrifice in my personal activities etc., I am not at all comfortable with them as I want to spend time according to my own preferences in non-lab hours.
Those professional compulsory activities always break my productive cycle of work and forces me to spend time.
Is this a common phenomenon in academia or am I entertaining those activities instead of saying a strong NO?
Note: The announcement for first class of activities are not in my hands. Superior authorities announces deadlines by personal calling, mailing etc.,
This is a US specific answer, perhaps, but yes, some of the things you describe are done, but it requires some perspective. For example, if you are working as a TA in a course there may be requirements on the timing of getting grading done so that feedback can be given to the students in a timely way. These may be university requirements, actually, but could be made by an individual. But I would expect to be told of these requirements early on so that I could schedule my other activities, work and life, around them.
The second kind are also done, if less frequently, but I'd expect to have some notice and I'd expect them to be rare. While you describe them as &quot;voluntary&quot;, others would call them &quot;professional&quot;. They take time and effort, but can pay you dividends as well. A professor may treat them as part of your professional training.
But imposing chaos on your life is bad. You need advance notice and the opportunity to schedule.
I'll note also, that professors have such requirements thrust on them as well, especially until they earn tenure. And even afterwards, the educational mission of the university has to be kept moving forward.