While I love a good coffee as much as the next person, today that is not what I am talking about.

Have you heard of the LATTE method?

It means Listen,  Acknowledge, Take action by solving the problem, Thank them, and then Explain why the problem occurred.

I feel this can be used in a variety of situations.

For example when I meet with a new client I may ask them to visualize the space in their home they are hoping to organize, and describe how they will feel when everything is in its place.

Another way to use is with your children and homework.  By saying, ‘How are you going to study tonight? What are you going to do tomorrow? How do you know you’re ready for your test?’ It trains them to set goals.

When people are asked to do something that takes self-control, if they think they are doing it for personal reasons—if they feel like it’s a choice or something they enjoy because it helps someone else—it’s much less taxing. If they feel like they have no autonomy, if they’re just following orders, their willpower muscles get tired much faster. In both cases, people ignored the cookies. But when the students were treated like cogs, rather than people, it took a lot more willpower.

People want to be in control of their lives.

I read this in a book and  is stuck with me.  The book was

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

“If you dress a new something in old habits, it’s easier for the public to accept it. The will to believe is the most important ingredient in creating belief in change. And that one of the most important methods for creating that belief was habits. Habits, are what allow us to do a thing with difficulty the first time, but soon do it more and more easily, and finally, with sufficient practice, do it semi-mechanically, or with hardly any consciousness at all. Once we choose who we want to be, people grow to the way in which they have been exercised, just as a sheet of paper or a coat, once creased or folded, tends to fall forever afterward into the same identical folds.
If you believe you can change—if you make it a habit—the change becomes real. This is the real power of habit: the insight that your habits are what you choose them to be. Once that choice occurs—and becomes automatic—it’s not only real, it starts to seem inevitable, the thing, as James wrote, that bears “us irresistibly toward our destiny, whatever the latter may be.”

Change might not be fast and it is not always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped.

THE FRAMEWORK:
• Identify the routine
• Experiment with rewards
Isolate the cue
• Have a plan

Set an alarm for 15 minutes!
A habit is a formula our brain automatically follows: When I see CUE, I will do ROUTINE in order to get a REWARD.

Good luck and let me know what you think of LATTE or how you changed a habit.

Thanks

#Latte # homework # habit #organized

Hello all.  Sorry I have been away. But I’m back.

Tomorrow is national thrift shop day!   How many of you have been in a thrift shop?  I am an avid thrift shopper and I have found some fantastic deals.

Deal one: vintage Dooney & Bourke handbag. Cost: $11 value: $50

Deal two: Tory Burch top. Cost: $13 value $165

Deal three: Nambe serving bowl. Cost $5 value $150

Tell me about your fabulous finds.  I have missed you!

I have spoken with many teachers and here is what they want you to know.  

“Don’t buy us mugs!  We have way too many.  Also don’t buy us picture frames, hair clips, and other kitschy stuff.  We enjoy gift cards.  Lunch or coffee would be great.  Also, we spend lots of our own money on school supplies for your children so gift cards for supplies would be wonderful.  (Walmart, staples or even the local grocery store).”

Teachers said getting gift cards was their best gift and if they got gift cards for school supplies it was equal to getting a raise.  They work tirelessly for your children and all that I spoke to love their work.  Your children’s handmade stuff is great but each year they have 9 to 26 students.  Think about if every year you got a mug or handmade gift from that many people you would be overwhelmed too.  Right?  Think about what would you do with that?  Where would you keep it?

I work with teachers to help them control their clutter the same as I work with you to help you.  We find that they struggle with letting go of clutter so if you add to their clutter you are not helping.

You don’t have to keep every gift.  Remember if you don’t need it, like it, use it let it go.

Have a great day!!  Who was your most memorable teacher?

Thanks Pamela

#teachers #teacherappreciationweek #lessismore #giftcards