From Chaos to Control – Tips to Help Lab Managers Manage a Hectic Workplace

By Mario Melendez, Head of Customer Experience, Reference Medicine

Running a lab is not an easy task. We all know the drill.  As Lab Managers, we walk in at 7:00 am and by 7:15, we’ve taken four phone calls and seen 10 emails that have the potential to detour our entire day.  The sequencing run from last night failed. The histology lab spilled the Xylene. We are out of reagents that are needed for today’s experiments. The boss wants a meeting in 20 minutes, and your third lab tech is out sick. 

It’s like playing Whack-a-Mole. How can you ever get anything done – especially when the stakes are so high? Our ultimate purpose is to serve patients, but all this noise can be deafening and can whittle away at our purposeful intent.

How do we manage… to manage?

‍At Reference Medicine, we get it.. We’ve been in the trenches (and still have the battle scars to prove it!). So from us to you, here are some tips to preserve your sanity while improving the overall efficiency in the lab you manage.

1. Identify and Eliminate Team Bottlenecks 

You’ve heard of minimally viable processes, right? Much like a minimum viable product – one that’s released early in development, before all the bugs have been worked out – having a minimally viable process means doing the bare minimum necessary to get something accomplished and get through your day. Maybe the way you’re doing things right now isn’t the best or most efficient way – it’s just the way you’ve always done it. And it happens to be viable. For now. 

So, for example, slide filing always gets postponed because it takes forever, it’s tedious, it’s not blocking getting a test result to a patient, and well, the team just hates doing it. It’s necessary, but dreaded. But does it have to be that way? Take a look at your minimally viable processes and apply some creativity – with a little effort, you can make them into your most valued processes instead.  

• Tip: Identify tasks that are repetitive and manual, like slide filing. Is there technology, like barcode scanning, that could make the task easier and turn it into a two-hour job instead of a two-day job?  
• Tip: Ask your team to tell you about tasks they find tedious or time-consuming, and then brainstorm solutions that could reduce or eliminate steps. Even small fixes can have a ripple effect on efficiency. (Not to mention morale!)‍

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2. Customize Your Organizational System‍

There’s no universal method for keeping all your ducks in a row, especially in a fast-paced lab environment. But staying organized and knowing your high-priority tasks is essential. So figuring out a system that works for you is really important. And what works for you might not work for your colleague. For me, good old, color-coded Post-it notes on my whiteboard work best. But whether you prefer a digital project management tool, sticky notes, or a traditional notebook and pen, the key is finding what works for you and sticking with it.

• Tip: Reflect on times when you’ve felt most organized. Was it because of a to-do list, a digital tool, or a physical filing system? Once you’ve found what works for you, implement that system consistently. Ten minutes of planning can save 10 hours of chaos.
• Tip: For digital solutions, tools like Outlook or Trello have functionality to help you manage tasks and deadlines right there on your dashboard. If Post-it notes work better, create a physical workspace that lets you quickly and easily see your notes.

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3. Give Yourself Room to Focus‍

Multitasking and constant distraction are surefire ways to throw your day into chaos – nothing gets done, and nothing gets done well. It’s like trying to read a book and watch a movie at the same time – you won’t really absorb either of them.  Staying focused means embracing SINGLE-tasking and intentionally creating a safe zone for you to get your tasks completed without distraction. When your attention is divided rather than focused, especially in the lab environment, that can lead to disaster. Create systems and ways to allow yourself to embrace single-tasking, preferably in a distraction-free environment.

• Tip: Turn off your notifications. Let your team know you will check emails at specific times – twice a day works well – and outside of those times, shut down Outlook, Slack, and your phone. If there’s something really urgent, your team knows how to contact you.

• Tip: Delegate tasks that don’t need your direct involvement. For example, limit your attendance to only essential meetings. Rule of thumb: if the meeting invite has more than five people, it’s probably informational rather than actionable—decline or delegate. 

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4. Batch Similar Tasks Together‍

Cognitive switching—jumping between tasks that require different mindsets—drains mental energy and lowers productivity. And as lab managers, we deal with a huge range of tasks – administrative, regulatory, scientific, human resources, and, of course, actual management. Grouping similar tasks together can help you stay focused and efficient.

• Tip: Assign specific days or blocks of time for different categories of tasks. For example, schedule administrative tasks for Monday mornings and reserve Fridays for data work.
• Tip: When working on creative problem-solving or process improvements, remove yourself from your usual workspace to change your mindset—try working outside or in the lab instead.

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5. Lead by Walking Around‍

Proactive leadership is key to keeping the lab running smoothly. I’ve found that taking the time to simply walk around the lab and visit with the team in an informal way can be a very productive approach for answering quick questions, making suggestions, or just hearing out a technician as they work through a problem. I’ve found this eliminates a lot of one-off email questions that take 20 minutes to answer; a five-minute, face-to-face conversation can be a lot more productive than an electronic back-and-forth. Plus, there's something really nice about connecting on an informal basis. 

• Tip: Try to schedule your walk-through time at the beginning or end of shifts – or whenever it’s most convenient for your team, so you’re not interrupting essential workflow.
• Tip: Train your team to use these walk-throughs effectively by being consistent – same time or same day – so you can be as helpful as possible on the spot.  

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‍6. Use Technology to Your Advantage‍

Look for ways to leverage technology to either automate tasks or simply move them along more quickly. This can be as simple as researching built-in features within technology you already have, exploring low/no-code tools like Power Automate and Zapier, or even adopting fully custom code options for more complex task automation. 

• Tip: AI automation like ChatGPT is an amazing tool. I use it to develop email drafts, reformat Excel sheets, and even conduct searches with results that are much more efficient and succinct than a typical Google search. (Our chief pathologist has been putting it to the test and he hasn't been able to stump it yet.) Disclaimer: If you’re going to use ChatGPT for writing (whether it’s emails, SOPs, or anything else), always take a look at the output, proofread it, and examine it with a critical eye to make sure that it’s not only accurate but reflects the personality and tone you’re going for. ChatGPT is an aid – not a replacement – for human brainpower and critical thinking. 

• Tip: Outlook has a great function that will automatically file emails into specified folders. So, for example, any email that comes from @ClientNumberOne will automatically get filed into a specific folder. It’s a great way to keep your inbox from being overwhelming.

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Lastly – and this is important – take time for YOU! We have stressful jobs, and it’s important to get a good night’s sleep. Eat well. Practice gratitude. Give yourself room to make mistakes, grow, and learn the ways to get through your day that work best for you. 

Efficient time management isn’t just about working faster—it’s about working smarter. Even small improvements can have a significant impact on lab operations, team morale, and your own energy and motivation levels. When everyone feels empowered by efficient processes, the entire lab runs more smoothly, leaving more time for innovation, collaboration, and work that will make a difference for patients.  

A LAB HACK CHALLENGE: If you’ve got super-lab-manager tricks up your sleeve—whether it's a time-saver, a productivity tip, or a creative solution that’s saved the day—we’d love to hear from you. Let’s keep the lab life hacks coming and help each other level up!