Tiny Experiments.
By Anne-Laure Le Cunff.
How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World.
I came across this book whilst browsing a few months back. I had never heard of the author, but the title jumped out at me amongst the spines of the many books in the self-improvement section, and I picked it up. On the reverse it says: “Forget the five-year plan: achieve your ambitions through tiny experiments.” That resonated with me straight away. My last few years have been defined by a series of “tiny experiments” as I have sought to grow and improve in various areas. Some have worked well, and others have been disappointing. But looking back, I marvel at the ground I have been able to cover – not in a linear fashion, but more organic learning based on trial and error. This book is one of the best I have ever read in terms of inspirational and achievable goalsetting. It reinforces the idea that we curate the content of our lives. Anne-Laure’s tools are practical and simple to apply, and reading this renewed my enthusiasm for continuous curiosity, experimentation and growth. I know that I will read this book again in the future and gain motivation and benefit from its clever contents.
Introduction
Anne-Laure details her personal story in the opening chapter, from her resignation at age 27 from her dream job at Google, to founding a tech start-up. She moved from one hyper focused, outcome driven pursuit to another and when she had to shut down her start-up she felt lost and strangely liberated. Slowing down, she got curious again by paying attention to energizing conversations, and topics that interested her. She returned to school to study neuroscience and made a pact with herself to write and share 100 articles in 100 workdays about mental health at work, creativity and mindful productivity. She solely focused on showing up and her highly subscribed and supported newsletter “Ness-labs” is the result of that time. She explains that uncertainty has much to teach us. Instead of rushing towards a defined outcome, there is an experimental way. Systematic curiosity is your ability to grow, even when the exact path is uncertain. In the book she outlines a set of tools and practices to discover and achieve your own goals that are an antidote to burnout and boredom, as well as alternatives to the old notions of success.
PACT: COMMIT TO CURIOSITY
Chapter 1: Why Goal Setting is broken
As adults we begin caring about what people think of us and we try to project an image of confidence, and focus on self-packaging over self-improvement.
Linear goals can be limiting when it is hard to predict the environment, timelines and measurability. The idea of setting a well-defined goal can be paralysing, and we feel stuck with what next steps to take.
People have an innate desire for growth – we just need to think about goals differently.
Linear goals (with satisfaction in the future) stimulate fear, encourage toxic productivity, and breed competition and isolation.
We abandon our curiosity or ambition with three defence mechanisms: cynicism, escapism and perfectionism.
Freedom lies within the gap between stimulus and response. Make a brave go at exploring the possibilities of the inbetween.
Three mental shifts to get from linear rigidity to fluid experimentation:
o From defensive (anxiety about uncertainty) to proactive (curiosity about uncertainty).
o From fixed linear progression ladders to cycles of experimentation or growth loops
o From outcome based definitions of success to process based (i.e. an unfolding path)
Chapter 2: Escaping the Tyranny of Purpose
The popularity of “find your purpose” has surged in recent years.
We each have unlimited possibilities, and so purpose is never a single discovery. Life is a continuous opportunity, so don’t rule out all the side quests, where we grow the most.
As we get older we progressively narrow the scope and variety of our lives, and develop set ways of doing things.
We follow “cognitive scripts” which limit us: the sequel script (following our past), the crowd-pleaser script (following expectations) and the epic script (following our passion).
Can you even hear yourself with so many voices telling you what to do next?
Unlearning your scripts: you are allowed to go off script; you can have multiple passions; and you can make progress without a fix purpose.
Rather than follow your past, the crowd or your passion – discover your path, your tribe and your curiosity.
A huge barrier to self-renewal is not knowing where to begin. Pay attention to what sparks your interest in a day and what makes you curious - insights, encounters, energy levels and moods.
Observe something, question how to change it and then construct a hypothesis to experiment with. For example: I feel anxious in the mornings. How can I feel more grounded? I could try meditation.
Chapter 3: A Pact to Turn Doubts into Experiments
By unlearning cognitive scripts, collecting data on your life, and thinking of hypotheses to test, you have opened up to what is possible.
Turn your hypothesis into a pact: an actionable commitment that you will fulfil for a set period of time.
A pact is a simple and repeatable activity that will bring you closer to your ambitions. Try something new, and learn from the experience.
I will (action) for (duration).
A pact (with an experimental mindset) is purposeful, actionable, continuous and trackable. It is doing focused rather than outcome focused; for example: “I will write every day for 100 days.” Vs “I will write a book”.
Get started, and build confidence through repetition. Committing to duration forces you to wait a certain number of repetitions before you make a decision.
Every time you act, you gather evidence, and repeated trials are essential to growth and learning.
To be successful is to try, fail, learn and try again.
Your commitment must be realistic – do not be over ambitious i.e. start with a 10 day pact.
A pact is not a habit (an unbounded time commitment). A pact is a useful test before a habit is established.
A pact is not a New Year’s resolution but rather a simple action over a specific time period.
A pact is not a performance metric (it is an output rather than an outcome).
Choose your pact based on your curiosity.
ACT: PRACTICE MINDFUL PRODUCTIVITY
Chapter 4: A Deeper Sense of Time
Focusing on relentless execution (the efficiency trap) leads to burnout.
The desire to make the most of our weeks is universal.
See through a lens of curiosity rather than productivity.
We attach our self-worth to how much we get done; and we see time as a commodity (we spend, invest, save, budget time).
We push ourselves to constantly output while downplaying the value of rest, reflection and meaningful engagement.
We need to shift from a quantitative to qualitative view of time, and shift from what we do with our time to how we experience each moment.
Shift to being rather than doing.
Your magic windows to focus on the quality of experience at hand:
Physical resources: Managing your energy by tuning into its rise and fall in order to determine when to focus, create and recharge; and prioritising energy creating whilst avoiding energy draining activities.
Cognitive resources: Managing your executive function with single, sequential tasking, freeing up your working memory by offloading and acknowledging worries and accounting for your mental state.
Emotional resources: Managing your emotions by listening to yourself and staying connected to your inner states, and moving your body to help reset.
When a state of doing feels compulsory, you can shift to a state of being by designing your own ritual, and finding a way to ground yourself in order to do your best work. You can interrupt the auto pilot mode with a breathing exercise, a cup of tea, stretching, music, a walk. Your ritual must be practical and most resonate with you personally.
Chapter 5: Procrastination is not the Enemy
Procrastination is seen as an undesirable character flaw accompanied by adverse reactions of anxiety and shame.
Change your relationship with procrastination are becoming curious rather than telling yourself to “just do it”.
Try to understand where the avoidance comes from and if you understand why, you can adjust your approach.
Where procrastination can come from:
o Head: is the task appropriate? (redefine the strategy)
o Heart: is the task exciting? (redesign the experience)
o Hand: is the task doable? (request support/ get training)
Understanding your procrastination better may open up new, alternative paths to follow.
Chapter 6: The Power of Intentional Imperfection
Perfectionism includes being afraid of making mistakes, setting sky high standards, feeling high expectations and over analysing.
Love, acceptance and attention can seem conditional on our achievements, but they are not.
Embracing imperfection is necessary to live a life of creative adventure.
Strive for sustainable excellence rather than fleeting perfection.
Ask yourself: in which domain to strategically choose short-term mediocrity to enable long-term excellence?
Accept your limitations by identifying perfection patterns, challenging your unrealistic targets and choosing progress over perfection.
Meander along the road to excellence rather than a dash madly toward perfection.
REACT: COLLABORATE WOTH UNCERTAINTY
Chapter 7: Creating Growth Loops
Regular reflection is vital in order to grow and improve.
We don’t go in circles, we grow in circles!
Continuous self-reflection creates feedback loop and progress.
Meta-cognition is curiosity directed at your inner world – your thoughts, emotions, beliefs. It is your ability to think about your own thinking, question your automatic responses and know your mind.
A very useful reflection tool: write three columns down on a piece of paper, titled “Plus”, “Minus” and “Next”.
Plus = what worked i.e. completing a project, finishing a book, learning a skill, a daily victory, special occasions, feedback, quality time.
Minus = what didn’t go well i.e. challenges, incomplete tasks, misunderstandings, mistakes, decisions, neglected areas.
Next = decide on actions for next period, based on plus and minus.
This exercise works because it is fast, flexible and future-focused. It can be used to monitor specific projects, or as a year-end review too.
Acknowledging mistakes helps us to reflect, and refine our approach.
Chapter 8: The Secret to Better Decisions
When we reached the end of a growth loop, we feel spurred onto to raise the stakes.
Completing a pact does not necessarily mean you should up the stakes or strive for more.
There are three routes to choose from:
o Persist (continue momentum and prolong your pact)
o Pause (quit or hold if the experiment is not going well)
o Pivot (by increasing or decreasing the scope, or changing tools or tactics)
As long as you keep adapting, learning and growing, you are winning.
Chapter 9: How to Dance with Disruption
Remain curious about the future rather than dwelling on the past. Choose to fluidly adapt to change rather than fighting against or trying to fix what goes wrong.
Disruptions are harder than unexpected eventse and can result in anxiety or depression.
Active acceptance is dealing with things in a constructive way, whilst resigning acceptance is abandoning action.
Relax your grip on the outcome whilst still showing up and sticking to your pact.
In the face of disruption, there are two states to reset:
o Let go of your personal like/dislike reactions (name and examine the emotion in order to process it).
o With clarity, look to see what is being asked of you by the situation.
IMPACT: GROWTH WITH THE WORLD
Chapter 10: How to Unlock Social Flow
Lock-down was an acute example of what happens when we are cut off from the generative energy of others.
Conversations feed our imagination and collaboration and help us to think of the bigger picture.
Social flow is when the energy of the group invigorates your own thinking and the shared focus sharpens your concentration.
Gatherings can produce a profound sense of fulfilment.
Social flow has three powerful effects:
o The pooling effect (collective resources empower you to achieve what you could not do alone)
o The ripple effect (the relationships that flourish and unlock other opportunities)
o The safety effect (practical help and moral support from a community)
Different ways of tapping into collective curiosity:
o The apprentice – be intentional about existing relationships.
o The artisan – applying your skills to contribute.
o The architect – scale impact by shaping the community structure or even building your own community.
Chapter 11: Learning in Public
Sharing your experiments provides fuel for your personal growth, leads to fresh discoveries and improves your rate of success.
Provides a forum for accountability.
Consider how much of your process you should share publicly, and where? With whom? How often?
You can run your experiment whilst documenting what you learn along the way, and tweak your approach according to the feedback you receive. You can expand the spotlight at your own pace.
Learning in public requires radical transparency, but sharing and working with your audience compound progress exponentially. It is important that you listen as much as you share.
The things your inner voice will tell you:
o I don’t know enough.
o People might judge me.
o It might be a distraction.
o It might negatively impact my professional reputation.
o I might become too focused on external validation.
Start small and go (grow!) at your own pace. Instead of flexing your expertise, flex your curiosity.
Chapter 12: Life Beyond Legacy
Many success stories follow a nonlinear pathway, and curiosity and community determine each step.
Instead of focusing on a destination, simply move in the direction of your curiosity, exploring way to grow, who with and how you can contribute positively to the world.
An enduring willingness to adapt becomes a superpower.
Seeking out opportunities to contribute to the world around you, you derive satisfaction and meaning.
When we search for meaning via promotions, academic achievements or material possessions we may get trapped on a hedonic treadmill.
Legacy: be focused on what you build, not on how big you built it.
Focus on generativity: using your personal growth to positively impact the world around you.
Discover meaning by focusing on daily actions.
Contribute good ideas and nurture good relationships to find generative adventures
Five Keys for Generative Adventures:
Do the work first: Produce things that demonstrate your ability to make a difference and increase your surface area of luck. Build your experience by turning your interest into action, and build a reputation as someone who consistently creates value.
Grow lateral roots: Extend your range to embrace more things and enable yourself to experience more. Go beyond the stacking of skills in your primary area to pursue projects that align with your interests, without quitting your day job.
Prioritize impact over image: Embrace fluidity, allow your career to evolve with your curiosity and leverage your unique combination of skills and experiences.
Close the loop to open doors: You can weave a non-linear career by consistently closing the loop on each experiment, reflecting and sharing hard won insights.
Play along the way: Explore unobvious paths and re-frame problems in entertaining and intellectually stimulating ways to open up new possibilities and make a positive difference in the world.
After reading this book, I am inspired to create more pacts with myself in order to experiment, learn and grow. Anne-Laure reminds us in her final chapter that our lives are made for searching, and it is more about the joy of the search than a final destination.
Discover what makes you feel the most alive. You are the lead scientist in your life, and you can move in any direction that your curiosity leads you.