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Action

In this CPD Action module, I’m going to show you how you can use an application called Trello to help you organise the workload in your pharmacy, but also to help you organise most things in your life.

It’s something that I use every day and has significantly boosted my productivity as well as those I collaborate with on there.

What is Trello and how does it work?

Trello is an online productivity tool, free to use, and is essentially a dashboard where you’re able to create Boards and Lists for anything you like. Within each list, you can create cards, and within these cards, you can do all sorts of things, such as attach notes, links, pictures, and deadlines. Your boards, lists and cards can also be shared with others.

Trello is great for overseeing everything that you need to do visually. It’s simple yet powerful and diverse, can help structure your tasks very effectively and can be accessed pretty much everywhere.

How can it help you in the Pharmacy?

You can use Trello to organise all facets of work in the pharmacy, all under one roof – that’s why I love it so much. For example:

Use it to organise your staff

You can set up a board named “Staff” and within this, you can have a list for each employee you manage, and assign them various cards, such as keeping a record of holidays.

Create boards for specific pharmacy topics

You could name a board “Clinical Governance” and begin building lists in there to structure exactly how you’re going to get it done. Or you could name a board “Quality Payments” and then begin to list the criteria on cards with direct links their relevant instructions on the PSNC website.

Create a board for potential business and prospects

Let’s say you’ve created a Board for GP surgeries and in there you have a list specific for the Manchester Road surgery. A while back you made a card to arrange a meeting with the Practice Manager for a specific day. You can move this card to a list of things that need to be done today or tomorrow and it will show up in there.

Create a board centred around your CPD

You might have a board specific for your CPD learning. Create lists around certain topics and if you find a learning module that you’d like to complete, create a card with a direct link attached to it and set a date and time that you’d like to get it done by. The options really are endless with this tool.

Trello can be used to organise other aspects of your life

I don’t just use Trello for the work I do in the Pharmacy. I have various lists for personal and admin tasks that I need to get done, and I use it extensively for the business I run online. I’m continuously updating new tasks and archiving them once complete, and not only do I know I’m getting things done, I feel a sense of achievement as I do so.

Evaluation

I’ve used plenty of productivity tools in my time and this one tops all of them. The ease of its use and functionality make my work and personal life much more seamless and stress-free, and I’m only using the basic, free option. It might not be for everyone, but if you like to be organised like me, it can make a big difference to your overall productivity and getting things done quicker.

Question time…

  • What other productivity tools do you use?
  • Do you have any other tips about using Trello?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below and if you found this module useful, it would be great if you could share it with your colleagues.

Thanks for visiting and see you in the next learning module!

Saam

 

LEARN THROUGH VIDEO

LEARN THROUGH READING

I want to give you some statistics from the Social Media giant, Facebook, that I’m sure you will agree, are completely absurd.

  • 1.9 billion people use Facebook every month, which is an increase of 17% from the year before, and is more than Twitter, Whatsapp and Instagram combined.
  • 1.2 billion people log onto Facebook every day.
  • And every 60 seconds, 510,000 comments are posted, 293,000 statuses are updated, and 126,000 photos are uploaded.
Ref: Zephoria Digital Marketing

Facebook cannot be ignored. In fact, we can’t get away from the damn thing, and in this video, I’m gonna give you 5 reasons why you, as an Independent Pharmacy, should start using Facebook for your business.

Popularity

Firstly, Facebook is the most popular Social Media platform by a long, long way. More and more people continue to use Facebook and if you think the elderly don’t use it, think again. According to a report by SproutSocial, 56% of adults aged 65 and over, use Facebook. If your patients and customers are on their, it’s ideal for you to be there too.

Free and Powerful Marketing Tool

Secondly, it’s a free and very powerful marketing tool that will improve your sales and strengthen your brand. Organising in-store events, creating promotional offers and targeting a specific demographic of your local area are just a fraction of the tools Facebook offer which can really help boost your revenue.

Deliver Better Healthcare

Healthcare isn’t bound by the walls of your pharmacy any longer. Facebook is an extremely effective channel for delivering health advice and can be used to help more and more people stay healthy.

Build Stronger Relationships in the Community

Building relationships has never been faster and more effective. Through Facebook, we can communicate with local businesses and the community with ease, and as every business knows, better relationships mean better business.

Push Forward the Profession

And finally, by harnessing the power of Facebook, you’ll be pushing forward our profession. The more we use Social Media in general, the more we will establish ourselves as primary care in the community.

We can use Facebook to help the NHS Crisis

Facebook is undeniably important, and not just for your business and our profession, for the healthcare system as a whole. I fully believe that if every pharmacy in the UK learns to implement a solid Social Media strategy, it will help with the NHS crisis. Medicines wastage, unnecessary A&E referrals and GP waiting times could all be indirectly improved.

If you’d like to implement a Social Media Strategy within your Pharmacy, check out the Pharmacy and Social Media Mastery Course where you and your team can learn how to drive sales, improve your brand and build a stronger community.

Saam