UPDATE: This seminar occurred in the past. View the list of upcoming seminars to discover live programs that are available now.
If you’re anything like Gillian Rasmussen, you’ve had times at work when you feel focused and optimistic about all that you’ve accomplished, but then you’ve also felt overwhelmed and unsure how to successfully tackle all that lies ahead of you.
We’ve all had that time when we really have a clarity of purpose and we’ve felt really productive, [when] we accomplished something we knew was really important. I don’t know about you, but I’ve [also] experienced times where I haven’t felt that. I’ve felt that there were a lot of things piling up on my plate and I started to feel like I was in the weeds or kind of lost and like I was running on a treadmill and not getting anywhere.”
The good news is tha
t if you’re feeling a little lost right now, Gillian is able to help. Because she works in a small consulting firm (Capability Connections), it’s sort of like she’s self-employed and her own boss. As such, she explains that she has to really “keep up on how to keep myself productive and how to get things accomplished when there isn’t anyone necessarily looking over my shoulder asking if I’ve done it.” That’s where her interest in productivity and time management comes in.
Gillian will be sharing her practical advice and tools at LESA’s Professional Productivity for Legal Support Staff seminar in October, so, if you’re looking for practical tips on productivity, you’ll find them here.
I like to do courses that will impact people at work and also impact their personal life. I do courses on conflict, courses in managing change, courses in productivity – all those kinds of things that are soft skills that we use and really can impact our work in a positive way but also that help us personally as well.”
We asked Gillian to share with us about how the program will be structured and what people will learn. Here’s what she had to say.
How is Professional Productivity for Legal Support Staff going to benefit attendees?
When I teach a time management or professional productivity course, I talk about the complexity we have in our world right now. We have so much information coming at us all the time and a lot of competing priorities. What we focus on is being able to make the right decision so that we can have the confidence in knowing that what we’re doing right now with our time is the best thing we could possibly be doing. … What we want to do is give the best practices that have been researched and used by the time management and productivity gurus and talk about how that applies to a legal support role. … So hopefully what people will get out of this course are a number of tools that have been tested that they can then use and modify in their own practice, in their work life and also in their home life, so that they can feel more productive and be more efficient – which is doing things in the best way – but also more effective – which is making the right decisions to do the right things that matter most.
Have you done other programs like this for legal support staff?
Capability Connections has done a number of courses like this for legal support roles, and I’ve also done this course for other support roles in other industries, engineering and public service as well.
Can you talk a little bit about what the format of the program?
It’s a seminar so we have people grouped in table groups, and there will be a number of small group activities and personal exercises where people will be able to draw on their own knowledge and their current work. … There’s large group discussions, small group discussions, and lecture presentations and exercises. It’s a fun day. One of the other benefits … is the opportunity to network and the opportunity to learn from your peers. People will gain information from the things that I present and also from the group discussions that happen when people really have the safety to discuss issues that everyone’s having and what they’ve done to be able to overcome the challenges and deal with them.
What will be the main takeaways for participants?
There are personal exercises, where people will have the opportunity to go through some of the things that will help them make decisions on their priorities, on their goals, and come up with their personal productivity system. So they’ll have tools that they can use back at the office to be able to do that.
Is there anything else you’d like to say about the seminar?
It is a good time. One of things that’s really important to me is that people come and they experience a safe environment where they can really focus and also enjoy the time. … Feedback comes back that the day goes by really quickly, you get a lot done, you feel productive. So that’s one thing I’d like to say. The other thing is people should come with specific problems or specific things that they want to learn, because in the context of the course there is opportunity to tailor, somewhat, what we spend the most time on, depending on what people need.
Register Now
If you’re interested in learning more about what Gillian will discuss at the seminar – including 5 key takeaways to increase your productivity – check out the program brochure.
The early bird registration ends soon (September 1), so register now in Edmonton (October 7) or Calgary (October 21) to take advantage of the savings.
