Not Enough Time in the Day? Hone Your Time Management Strategies!

When she first began her career in the medical laboratory, Diana Kremitske, MHA, MS, MT(ASCP), had much to learn about time management. Working in a busy laboratory, at times alone in a section of the lab, made it essential to develop strong time management skills. She learned from more seasoned colleagues how to prioritize tasks and organize her work.  

“Multi-tasking was required. Discipline and focus were required to keep organized in a busy laboratory,” she recalls. “As my career grew from a technologist working on the bench to a supervisor and beyond, I took advantage of time management training programs.”

One such program taught her how to focus on professional objectives that were a personal priority. She began by writing one sentence describing a realistic professional goal, and then broke it down into steps outlining how she would achieve that goal in a stepwise fashion. Each day, she put one step toward reaching that goal on her task list. This simple method of scheduling allowed her to consistently make small, yet incremental progress toward accomplishing her larger goals.

Today, Ms. Kremitske holds an executive leadership role as the Vice President of Operations of the Diagnostic Medicine Institute, Geisinger Health System, in Pennsylvania. She oversees laboratory and radiology operations and courier services at several hospital campuses and numerous clinics in the Geisinger Health System. She also participates in overseeing Geisinger’s Patient Blood Management Program.

“Clinical laboratories are busy workplaces and there are times with many high priority tests, causing periods of high demand throughout the work shift,” Ms. Kremitske says. “If there is a lack of organization and loss of focus on the tasks at hand due to high degree of distractions, time management obviously suffers and the root cause must be addressed.”

As her career has progressed, Ms. Kremitske developed an even greater appreciation for teamwork. As a manager, she often found there is reliance on the staff working as a team to accomplish tasks, projects and goals. Planning with the input of the team is critical to ensure that the work is accomplished in a timely fashion.

Delegating appropriately is another strategy she has come to rely on to more effectively manage her time.

Meanwhile, Kremitske notes that lab managers can help employees learn to be more efficient and to manage their time without sacrificing quality or sanity. “Clarifying priorities and supporting the efforts of the team by acknowledging teamwork is very important,” she says. Kremitske is a big proponent of using performance improvement methodologies, such as LEAN, to help reduce unnecessary steps in a process.

Lastly, she offers tips to the rising lab scientist who wants to an effective, efficient leader. “Be open to learning and improving one’s self, and be open to feedback,” she advises. “Identify skills that need to be developed or strengthened. Choose more than one mentor to get different perspectives, and ask for feedback on the skills or behaviors you are seeking to improve.”