1. A network services processor comprising: a plurality of network services processor elements that perform work comprising packet processing operations; a plurality of in-memory linked-lists arranged to store entries indicating work to be performed by the network services processor elements; and a scheduling processor configured to schedule the work for the plurality of network services processor elements, the scheduling processor further configured to 1) detect availability of a processor to perform the work and 2) store the entries to the plurality of in-memory linked-lists in response to detecting a lack of an available processor to perform the work in the plurality of network services processor elements, and the scheduling processor moving the entries back from the in-memory linked-lists to a given network services processor element of the plurality of network services processor elements in response to detecting availability of a processor to perform the stored work in the plurality of network services processor elements, wherein the work to be performed by the network services processor is unpacked upon being moved back from the in-memory linked-lists to the network services processor.