Anne-Laure Le Cunff is a former Googler who decided to go back to university to pursue a PhD in neuroscience. As the founder of Ness Labs and the author of its widely read newsletter, she is the foremost expert on mindful productivity and systematic curiosity. She writes about evidence-based ways for people to navigate uncertainty and make the most of their minds. She lives in London, where she continues to research and teach people how to apply scientific insights to real-world challenges.
What’s the big idea?
Tiny Experiments challenges the rigid, linear approach to success and invites readers to embrace uncertainty as a playground for growth. Neuroscientist and entrepreneur Anne-Laure Le Cunff reveals how an experimental mindset can transform doubt into opportunity, helping us break free from invisible cognitive scripts and outdated beliefs about success. Through simple yet powerful personal experiments, readers will discover their true ambitions, make decisions aligned with their values, and replace rigid goals with a more adaptive, fulfilling path. This book is both a practical guide and a call to reawaken curiosity, empowering us to navigate life with creativity, resilience, and purpose.
Below, Anne-Laure shares five key insights from her new book, Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World. Listen to the audio version—read by Anne-Laure herself—in the Next Big Idea App.
1. Life isn’t meant to be climbed like a ladder.
Have you ever felt stuck between what you think you should be doing and what actually excites you? Maybe you’re following a path that looks good on paper but doesn’t feel quite right. Or perhaps you’re at a crossroads, unsure which direction to take next. I know this feeling well.
I had what many would consider a dream job at Google: International travel, challenging work, amazing colleagues, and a clear path to success. But despite all the apparent benefits, something felt off. The success ladder was right there in front of me, each rung clearly defined, but climbing it felt increasingly mechanical. I was feeling both burned out and bored.
Until one day, I faced a health crisis that compelled me to reflect. This experience made me realize the importance of honoring my instinct that there was more to life. Through years of exploration—founding Ness Labs, researching for my PhD in neuroscience, and interviewing hundreds of people about their relationship with work and growth—I discovered a powerful alternative to the traditional ladder of success.
Instead of climbing a predetermined ladder where each rung represents a milestone you’re supposed to achieve, you can go through growth loops—cycles of experimentation and learning that allow you to evolve in ways that align with your authentic interests and values. Growth loops are how nature evolves, how science progresses, and how we can become who we’re really meant to be in a more sustainable and fulfilling way.
2. Become the scientist of your own life.
A simple way to become the scientist of your own life is by running tiny experiments through what I call a “pact,” a simple, time-bound commitment to exploration and experimentation. Unlike traditional goals that focus on outcomes (like “I will become a successful writer”), a pact focuses on actions you can take right now (like “I will write for 30 minutes every day for the next 30 days”).
What’s important for a tiny experiment to be useful is for your pact to have a specific action paired with a specific duration. For example, a work-related pact could be: “I will spend the first hour of each workday on creative projects for the next month.” A health-related pact could be: “I will meditate for 10 minutes every morning for the next 10 days.” A relationships-related pact could be: “I will sit down and send an honest, heartfelt thank you message to a friend every weekend for six weeks.”
“As long as you complete the experiment and collect all the data, you’ve experienced growth.”
This transforms vague aspirations into concrete experiments, making it easier for you to get started and sustain momentum. But this also completely changes our relationship to success and failure. With a tiny experiment, you’re not trying to achieve a specific outcome. You’re just trying to learn something new. As long as you complete the experiment and collect all the data, you’ve experienced growth.
3. Success comes from reflection in action.
The art of thinking about your own thinking, which psychologists call metacognition, is essential to make your experiments effective. Metacognition isn’t just reflection; it’s a systematic way to learn from your experiences. Researchers use it to refine their scientific experiments, athletes use it to improve their performance, and we can use it to enhance our personal experiments.
One simple metacognitive tool I introduce in the book is Plus Minus Next. Imagine three columns where, at the end of each week, you can note what worked in the “Plus” column, what didn’t in the “Minus” column, and what you’ll try the following week in the “Next” column. This creates a feedback mechanism, ensuring you’re not just taking action, but also learning from each experiment.
For instance, one of my students used Plus Minus Next to track her progress as she navigated a career transition. In the Plus column, she recorded the energizing conversations she had with professionals in her target industry. In the Minus column, she recognized that attempting to network after work was draining her energy. In the Next column, she resolved to schedule these conversations during her lunch break instead. These small yet significant adjustments enabled her to manage her career change more effectively.
4. Learning in public is the most powerful accelerator.
Learning in public means sharing your journey and experiments with others as they unfold. This is the opposite of presenting yourself as an expert or pretending to have everything figured out. Instead, it’s about creating opportunities for collective curiosity and learning from others.
Let me provide a concrete example. When I started Ness Labs, I made a commitment to write and publish one article every weekday for a hundred days. I didn’t wait until I felt ready or had everything perfectly planned. I simply began writing and sharing what I was learning about neuroscience, productivity, and creativity.
“It’s about creating opportunities for collective curiosity and learning from others.”
Was every article perfect? Definitely not. But by learning in public, I built a community of over 100,000 curious minds interested in similar topics. The feedback, questions, and conversations that emerged shaped not only what I wrote about but also led to unexpected opportunities—including the very book I’m talking about today.
5. We don’t need to have it all figured out.
These practices—running tiny experiments, reflecting on your progress, and learning in public—work together to create powerful growth loops. Each experiment teaches you something new, reflection helps you integrate those lessons, and sharing your journey multiplies the opportunities for growth. Think of these practices as a flywheel; each one amplifies the others.
What I love about this experimental approach is that it alleviates the pressure of knowing your purpose. Instead of trying to follow someone else’s blueprint for success, you allow your own definition of success to emerge through personal experimentation.
Remember, you don’t need to have it all figured out. Start small, stay curious, and let each experiment lead you to the next. Your path might not look like anyone else’s—and that’s exactly the point. Life is not about waiting for the perfect moment or following someone else’s script. It’s about running tiny experiments that help you grow, one step at a time.
To listen to the audio version read by author Anne-Laure Le Cunff, download the Next Big Idea App today:
