How Cute Animals and Index Funds Are Good for You

INVESTING | FINANCES

Best Investment Strategy Ever?

Many wise investors will offer the same advice - Stock Market Index Funds are the way to go.

First off, you’re probably aware there are many ways to invest - real estate, crypto, venture capital, etc. However, the stock market (at least in the US) has historically brought some of the highest and most stable returns for investors - an average of 10% per year over the last century!¹

Also, another golden rule of investing is “diversification” - since it is riskier to put all of your eggs in one basket - and index funds allow you to do exactly this.

An index fund is basically an “index” of multiple stocks. For example, by putting money into an S&P 500 index fund, you’re actually investing in the top 500 companies in the stock market, at the same time!

What I mentioned above has been greatly simplified and you should also do your own research², but if you currently invest or are thinking about investing, please do yourself a favor and look into index funds. Check out some of the resources below for more info as well.

MOOD BOOST | PRODUCTIVITY

Paws-itive Vibes: Looking at Baby Animals Is Good for You

If this photo did not make you automatically “awww,” you should consider getting psychologically assessed 🤣.

In all seriousness, there have been a few recent studies about the benefits of looking at cute (baby) animal pictures. Some not-so-surprising benefits include reducing stress and anxiety levels, as well as improving mood and overall well-being.

More remarkably, however, is that one study conducted by Hiroshima University proved that looking at cute pictures can also boost your productivity, specifically by enhancing performance on detail-oriented tasks through narrowing the attentional focus.³

So, the next time you’re caught looking at cute pictures on the job, you can tell your boss it’s for work!

PHOTOGRAPHY | GENERAL ADVICE

The Rule of Thirds: A Photographer's Secret Weapon

While the age of the smartphone has democratized photography, it has also led to trillions of terrible photos taken by amateurs. But you can be different. Just utilize “The Rule of Thirds” and you’ll up your photos by a lot.

Most people place objects smack dab in the middle, which makes for mostly boring photos.

Instead, split the screen into thirds, both horizontally and vertically, and try to line up objects near or on these imaginary lines. Most phone cameras even make it super easy with the lines already imposed.

AND if you want to be super fancy, you can also line objects up where the vertical and horizontal lines intersect.

Using this “Rule of Thirds” trick alone will make your photos much more visually appealing.

Now go and put your newfound photo skills to the test!

Thanks for reading! What are we doing well or not so well? What kind of topics would you like to see more of? Let us know at [email protected].

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Have a great day/evening ahead and see you tomorrow!

- Kevin and the Idle Impact Team

More reading

• Index Funds

  • The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing - Many, including myself, recommend this as one of the top investment books (index funds and in general) of all time.

  • The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns is written by Jack Bogle, founder of The Vanguard Group and inventor of the index fund

• Cute Photos

  • Article about the University of Hiroshima Study

  • More studies here and here

• Rule of Thirds

  • Great guide from digital-photography-school.com