In a modern laboratory, time is arguably your most valuable reagent. Yet, for many lab managers and scientists, the workday often feels like a race against the clock that they are destined to lose. Between administrative hurdles and the constant pressure of production, "real science" often takes a backseat to busy work.

In the webinar "Five Ways to Defeat Time Wasters in Modern Laboratories," communications and leadership expert Rick Parmely (Polished and Professional LLC) tackles this universal struggle. He identifies the five specific "non-value-added" activities that plague almost every lab and offers actionable strategies to eliminate them.

If you feel like your team is constantly working but rarely advancing, you might be falling victim to these five common traps.

1. The Procrastination Pitfall

We often think of procrastination as simple laziness, but in a high-stakes environment like a lab, it is often a symptom of unclear priorities or fear of failure.

• The Problem: putting off complex data analysis or difficult personnel conversations results in bottlenecks that stall the entire team.
• The Fix: Parmely explores the root causes of procrastination and provides techniques to "eat the frog" and tackle high-priority tasks before they become emergencies.

2. The Failure to Delegate

"It’s faster if I just do it myself." This is the mantra of the overworked lab manager.

• The Problem: Hoarding tasks doesn't just burn you out; it robs your staff of developmental opportunities.
• The Fix: The webinar challenges managers to ask: Who else can accomplish this task? And who can we train? Effective delegation is not about dumping work; it’s about building a more capable team.

3. The High Cost of Travel

In an era of increasing connectivity, physical presence is not always a requirement.

• The Problem: Travel consumes massive amounts of time—not just in transit, but in recovery and catch-up work upon return.
• The Fix: Parmely asks the critical question: "Can we afford it?" This section forces leaders to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of off-site trips versus the efficiency of virtual alternatives.

4. The "Paperwork" Quagmire (Email & Admin)

The silent killer of productivity is the constant "ping" of the inbox.

• The Problem: Scientists are trained to do research, yet they often spend hours every day navigating email threads and administrative red tape.
• The Fix: The presentation offers strategies for managing the influx of information so that "staying in the loop" doesn't prevent you from doing your actual job.

5. Meetings That Don't Add Value

We have all been in a meeting that could have been an email.

• The Problem: aimless, unstructured meetings drain morale and interrupt deep work.
• The Fix: Do your meetings have a clear purpose? Do they result in action items? Parmely provides a framework to ensure that every minute your team spends in a conference room adds tangible value to the lab's goals.

Watch the Full Webinar for Solutions

Identifying the problem is easy; fixing it requires a plan. In the full video, Rick Parmely dives deeper into the how, offering specific tools and mental shifts to reclaim your schedule.

Watch the full presentation below to start defeating the time wasters in your lab:

Key Takeaway

As you watch, pay special attention to the section on Delegation. For many lab managers, this is the single biggest lever for reclaiming time, yet it is often the hardest to pull. Parmely’s advice on identifying who to train can be a game-changer for your lab's long-term

Speaker

Rick Parmely is the founder of Polished and Professional LLC, a training company that specializes in improving communications of groups as diverse as individual scientists and managers, or groups of trainers. After teaching undergraduate chemistry at West Point and Juniata College, Rick joined Restek Corporation in 1997 and, until recently directed their technical education program. He teaches communications technique, chemistry, and separation science theory. With 30-plus years of teaching experience, Rick has taught science and communications courses to widely diverse audiences, including NATO officials, technicians at the U.N. Pesticides Laboratory in Austria, flavor scientists in Shanghai, China, and scientists at the University of Nairobi as well as to hundreds of domestic clients.