At Ecology by Design we empower team members at all levels to manage projects from quoting to invoicing. We recognise creating well-rounded consultants needs training in a wide skillset.

We therefore started mental health month with a CPD about managing stress. We discussed:

• Causes of stress;

• Practical solutions; and

• How we can help each other.

Personal stress management priorities for team members include taking lunch time walks, eating more healthily and working smarter, not harder.

We then reviewed the various components of our roles, from quoting to surveys, report writing to invoicing, client liaison to applying for licences and discussed how we prioritise our work and meet our goals. We discussed:

• Why we might need to prioritise each task;

• The time taken and ease of doing each task;

• Approaches to planning work; and

• Top tips for managing our work load.

We see this as a way of ensuring managing mental health is at the top of everyone’s list and we’ll be helping each other keep an even keel and stay connected as we power on with more optimised remote working in the months ahead.

World Mental Health Day this year was on 10th October and we challenge you and your colleagues to take the time to discuss how we can all help each other not just on these days but all year round.

Below is a useful infographic for dealing with lockdown during the winter.