Are you struggling to keep up your motivation at work? Are you easily distracted by the buzzing fly intent on getting out the window when you should be looking at the figures on your desktop?
Apparently the quick-fix is to put a photo of your pet on your desk.
We are not joking you.
Research suggests that if you want to work harder, all you need to do is place a photo of your animal friend on your desk at work.
Looking at photos of cute pictures of animals could improve your concentration by a tenth, a study has found.
And it’s better if your photo is of your furry friend in their younger years. The researchers found that people who saw images of baby animals performed better and quicker than those who looked at adult animals.
The experts believe that becoming focused is brought on by a cuteness-triggered positive emotion associated with taking motivation from anything that gives you happiness, pleasure or joy.
Would a giant bar of chocolate work then?
No, apparently. One group looked at pictures of puppies and kittens, the second looked at adult animals and a third was shown images of tasty foods.
The study, carried out at Hiroshima University in Japan, based its findings on the three groups of students.
The performance of the group looking at pictures of puppies and kittens increased by a whopping average of 10 per cent.
The work-rate of those looking at adult animals also improved, but only by an average of 5 per cent.
Viewing images of pleasant foods was ineffective in improving performance.
We think you’d need the real thing on your desk for the chocolate buzz to kick in!
The findings suggest that viewing cute images makes people behave more deliberately and perform tasks with greater time and care.
So now we know…
