Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World

by Anne-Laure Le Cunff

"I loved this profound, practical, and generous book."—Oliver Burkeman

A transformative guide to rethinking our approach to goals, creativity, and life itself from a neuroscientist and entrepreneur, and the creator of the popular Ness Labs newsletter

Life isn’t linear, and yet we constantly try to mold it around linear goals: four-year college degrees, ten-year career plans, thirty-year mortgages. What if instead we approached life as a giant playground for experimentation? Based on ancestral philosophy and the latest scientific research, Tiny Experiments provides a desperately needed reframing: Uncertainty can be a state of expanded possibility and a space for metamorphosis.

Neuroscientist and entrepreneur Anne-Laure Le Cunff reveals that all you need is an experimental mindset to turn challenges into self-discovery and doubt into opportunity. Readers will replace the old linear model of success with a circular model of growth in which goals are discovered, pursued, and adapted—not in a vacuum, but in conversation with the larger world.

Throughout the book, you will ask hard questions and design simple yet meaningful experiments to find the answers. You will learn how to break free from the invisible cognitive scripts that shape your life, how to harness the power of imperfection, and how to make smarter decisions when the path forward is unclear.

This is a guide to:
• Discover your true ambitions through conducting tiny personal experiments
• Dismantle harmful beliefs about success that have kept you stuck
• Dare to make decisions true to your own aspirations
• Stop trying to find your purpose and start living instead

Tiny Experiments offers not just practical tools to make sure our most vital work gets done, but a guide to reawakening our curiosity and drive in a noisy, busy, disaffected world, so that we can discover and pursue our most authentic ambitions while making a meaningful contribution.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Productivity, Psychology, Personal Development, Business, Audiobook

304 pages, Paperback

First published March 4, 2025

Reviews

[Mika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a first year PhD student and this book was recommended to me in a how-to-PhD newsletter. This book gave me everything I wanted to hear from a "productivity" or "career" textbook (if you read the book you know why these words are in quotation marks...): That happiness is more important than what most consider productivity and that Chaos, failure, uncertainty and disruption is a natural thing to consider in thinking about what you want to DO in your life instead of focusing on accomplishing. The author touches on many aspects of leading a meaningful and happy life that often get overlooked, e.g. the value of social connections and overcoming fears.

I loved the framing an the concepts, I loved the complexity, and I loved listening to the author in the audiobook. I actually implemented two small experiments already and already learned something about myself.

Still, it's a self help book, and being who I am I could not follow through the last two chapters (yet).

[Aniruddha Mukherjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptionally good.

I'm glad I got to know about this book and actually read it. I'll highly recommend this to anyone who feels demotivated or burnt out from chasing after the traditional goals set by the society. All age groups will benefit from reading this.

[Rick Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and practical. What a great idea and execution.

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a member of the Ness Labs community, I had high expectations for this book, especially since the PACT framework was introduced in one of the author’s workshops. While the core idea is strong, I often felt lost due to the sheer number of examples provided, which distracted me from the central point she was trying to make. The examples felt underdeveloped, excessive, and sometimes out of place, making the book feel cluttered rather than insightful. I always appreciate simple and relevant anecdotes, but here it felt like she was constantly trying to show off rather than genuinely illustrating her ideas.

Concepts (mentioned originally when I was introduced to PACT) like the Wayfinder mindset, MoSCoW method, interstitial journaling, gardener/librarian/architect comparison, and the Eisenhower Matrix—which would have strengthened the approach—were missing.

The author does a fantastic job with short-form content, but in a longer format, it seemed like she struggled to choose a clear direction for structuring the book. A more thoughtful, well-organized approach would have done the framework justice. If you're new to these ideas, you might find value in it, but for me, it feels incomplete and disappointing.

[Luco22 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tiny Experiments is a different kind of book, in that it defies what you typically see in "Self-Help" nowadays. It's not a "follow your passion" type of book. Or a "follow this routine / practice to find happiness" type of book.

Instead, it replaces these concepts with a toolkit to help you experiment with those ideas that you always wanted to try, but were too: hard; big; vague; uncomfortable; or long.

It does this by helping you take that idea and transform it into a Tiny Experiment that is small, possible and super short (most impactful for me!). Then once you've completed it, or not (no judgment as it's just data), you can reflect on how it went and to see whether you want to Persist (start another cycle), Pivot (make a tweak and continue) or Pause (take a break).

Three Tiny Experiments in, I've been able to try out what an idea might be like. Tweak this to better align the idea with my actual life. Finish up with a counter experiment, to keep my biases in check. Through this short three weeks, I've been able to discovered three unique practices that I'll take forward to the life ahead.

So, if you've always had ideas that somehow slips away, Tiny Experiments may be the key to try them out and see for yourself if they are worth pursuing.

[Bejay Mulenga · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. As an entrepreneur going through a transitional time, the themes are proving very timely to what I am thinking next. I like the authors approach of experiments!

I’ve designed a few experiments for the rest of March that I am excited to test in both my life and business.

[Grace Gowland · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful way to reset my entire outlook life. Anne-Laure Le Cunff fosters and encourages readers to embrace uncertainty which is a welcome antidote to pressure of achieving perfection. As an ex-teacher and a life long lover of learning this is exactly the mindset we should be embedding at all ages. Having left the education system both as a student and professionally this comes as an important reminder to always be curious and always be learning. Would highly recommend if you too want to turn your life into a series of mini adventures!

[Charlotte Crowther · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciate Anne-Laure's fresh and creative take on success:
“Success is the lifelong experiment of discovering what makes you feel most alive.”

I hope you get a copy so it tickles your curiosity, opens your mind, awakens your adventurous spirit, warms your generous heart, inspires your tiny experiments, makes you laugh, and touches you as profoundly as it does me.

Thank you channeling Anne-Laure for your breadth of knowledge, somatic wisdom, relatable stories, useful mental models, and easy to use tools.

[Yuni Amir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transformative!

[Hanan Al Mahmoud · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible and unexpected find! The book delivers a refreshingly original concept with remarkable finesse. I didn’t want it to end, as it masterfully balances practicality and efficiency while offering a diverse set of creativity and life-planning tools.

I appreciate books that inspire self-improvement while maintaining an uplifting tone, especially when highlighting so many relevant areas for growth for me. The author’s warmth—likely propelled by her humility and generosity—enhances the impact of her thoughtful and elegantly simple life advice. This is undoubtedly a book I will return to time and again. Easy 5.

[bestie :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was just what I needed to hear. Everything to help beat procrastination, plan for the future and just see where life goes. Would recommend to those who worry about little things with work and the future.

Thank you to the publishers for the advanced readers copy 😁😁

[Jacob Snider · Rating 3 out of 5]

For all its faults, this book has much to be taken from it. Especially by people who are only at the beginning of their journey to take a step back from burn out. With that being said, the author frequently quick fires different stories, analogies and ideas, but doesn’t give most of them enough screen time to fully develop. Even though the ideas are more mindful than blindly goal chasing in life, the book suggests a lot of reskinned versions of goal-oriented life. I would like to reiterate that there is still a lot to takeaway from this book. It is not bad by any means.

[Books Before Bs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written with vast enthusiasm but lacking any new or revolutionary content, ‘Tiny Experiments’ reads like an eleven year old has mistaken common understanding for profound insight and has written a book to proselytise on this life-changing discovery.

Worse still, said eleven year old has failed to recognise the part privilege, support systems, natural temperament and luck play in many people’s success, and believes that following certain steps—just like a magic spell—will undoubtedly lead to the same success the people she mentions and she herself has experienced and so everyone ought to do it. (Spoiler alert: it won’t. And while some people might find the tips useful, many people will find the advice didn’t suit them in the past and doesn’t suit them still, or that it’s applicable in some contexts but not in others.)

I wanted this book to be as novel and transformative as it promised to be, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case for me, and I doubt it will be for anyone who’s over the age of 25, who’s read any kind of self-improvement material or who’s ever engaged in meaningful self-refection. That said, the book is readable, and it certainly isn’t the worst self-help/productivity book out there. I found it an interesting case study in how unacknowledged privilege can lead to distorted perceptions. In the spirit of ‘tiny experiments’, try it for yourself and see what you take from it. Just don’t expect it to be life-changing. (And don’t blame me if you feel it’s a waste of time and money!)

[Pamela Jo Mason · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this because the title was endearing, but it was too textbook and overwhelming. There was the usual ‘take the plunge, quit your job and follow your dreams’ theories, but life isn’t always so forgiving. I gave this book a clear chance, read it through, tried to find some takeaways, but it fell flat for me. 😕

- [ ] Disclaimer - I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway.

[Mary Ales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tiny Experiments is full of wisdom for this productivity obsessed world. Unlike many books in this genre (and I have read lots of them), Le Cunff offers practical tools for curious minds to expand and spread. I feel that I have come home. The tools are fantastic and practical - dare I say fun - to use. Plus-Minus-Next is my go to for weekly reviews and reflection. The book is honest and hopeful for living a generative life with others. Highly recommend.

[Morgane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Life-Changing Approach to Success

Tiny Experiments is a must-have if you're questioning your path to success. Anne-Laure Le Cunff provides an actionable, refreshing perspective—encouraging small, manageable experiments rather than rigid, overwhelming plans. Her approach redefines success as any positive outcome from new experiences, no matter how small. This book is both inspiring and practical, making it easy to apply its lessons right away. Highly recommended!

[Nadya Tsech · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the title and the concept of tiny experiments. However, the title felt misleading. I expected a book full of creative experiments, but instead, it was more of a pep talk for corporate professionals on a hamster wheel. If you’re looking for permission to step off the career ladder and try something different, this book might be for you—but it wasn’t what I was hoping for.

[Bálint · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. What a shame, such a miss. The title and the subtitle sold me on reading the book (actually I listened to the audiobook with the author narrating, which was the first red flag).

For the first few chapters it was good - it made experiments a tangible thing, but then it went downhill reaaaall fast. I mean, it's just copy paste self help BS you have read a thousand times before, packaged in different words. The creator economy circle jerk is ringing hard here. Even before diving in, I saw the testimonials and recognized the same few people from the same creator circles. Another red flag (those people did not read the book, I bet my liver on that, at best skimmed a draft and just played nice with the fellow creator.).

The self help content itself is not inherently bad, it's probably totally fine for a twenty something year old who opened the internet for the first time. But the way it is presented (total chaos, scattered, directionless) with grandiose chapter intros, confusing examples are just jarring.

When she started to talk about learning in public I just fucking rolled my eyes. How is this relevant to tiny experiments? Meh.

With that said, I'm giving it two stars, because it actually got me to take action. My main take aways:
- design a SHORT experiment
- then evaluate and give yourself permission to stop if it ain't feelin' right.

That is it. It could have been a tweet.

Note: no offense, but the author's accent is possibly the worst I ever heard, so listening to the audiobook was a real struggle. I know it was a tiny experiment for her and I mean absolutely mean no malice, it's not something she has (direct) control over. But it made my ears bleed.

[CatReader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anne-Laure Le Cunff is a French entrepreneur and an early career neuroscientist (she earned a PhD in 2024 in neuroscience from King's College London). Her 2024 book Tiny Experiments is in the vein of most modern productivity literature -- think James Clear's Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, Nir Eyal's Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, Charles Duhigg's The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, Oliver Burkeman's Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals and Laura Vanderkam's 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think for some high profile examples. This is a crowded, competitive field where novelty is hard to come by, and readers shouldn't expect wheel reinvention as much as wheel refinement with every new iteration.

Though I found the organization of this book to be repetitive (and had to slow down my usual listening pace as Le Cunff narrated the audiobook with her pronounced French accent), I do agree with her fundamental idea of taking iterative, consistent, maintainable steps over time, and building incrementally upon progress rather than expecting massive overnight changes to stick (these, not coincidentally, are also the main premises behind Clear and Duhigg's works, which also came borrowed from productivity, time management, and self-development books from last century). I think most of us who've successfully built long-term habits have figured this out for ourselves, whether we learned it from any of the aforementioned books, by observing relevant behaviors in those we've admired, or independently through trial and error. Le Cunff writes about tiny experiments she's undertaken in her life that have paid off, and also shares many examples from others in the productivity field and those who follow her social media content where they also use the same principles successfully, underpinning my prior points.

So is this book novel or ground-breaking? No. Do we need another book with the same underlying messages as dozens of others in 2025? Probably not. But will this book hit with the right audiences? Certainly.

My statistics:
Book 159 for 2025
Book 2085 cumulatively

[E.M. Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Tiny Experiments: How to Live Freely in a Goal-Obsessed World, a book we read through the Growclass book club and which I might not have picked up on my own.

Ness Labs is a similar community led by Anne-Laure Le Cunff, whose background is in neuroscience and entrepreneurship.

There are lots of resources to encourage experimentation and growth mindsets compared to my first years in the workforce, to the point where it's harder to stand out. As with more books in this genre, it's likely going to be most helpful to people early into their journey in these topics.

The section on procrastination as a player as opposed to a blocker in the creative ecosystem was most refreshing to me. Le Cunff describes three approaches to understanding why procrastination is showing up, and while I found them truthful, the argument was presented in a unique way.

I liked the Plus, Minus, Next exercise the most, and am currently doing a two-month experiment to see if a weekly reflection adds more focus and clarity to my consulting practice.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I prefer this over Atomic Habits.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I sometimes read the author's Substack so picked up this book when it came out. It pretty much reads as a mash-up of Atomic Habits and Design Thinking. Instead of linear goals, the author advocates for growth loops, consisting of experiments with taking action over a set time period or number of repetitions, then reassessing.

[Divya]

I felt a deeper connection with myself after reading this book. It offered a perspective on personal and professional growth that resonated on a fundamental level. It felt as if someone had entered my mind, extracted my tension points, and rearranged them to bind intuition, emotion, and logic to my feelings.

While the writing style itself didn’t feel like a cohesive story that immediately captivates the reader, the key points presented a unique lens through which to view the world.

Will add more soon.

[Fig · Rating 5 out of 5]

The BEST reading experience is finding a sentence so good you have to close the book and stare at the wall for a minute.

This book is filled with such sentences, redefining success and replanting seeds to flower a fulfilling life.

It explores how to unlearn what adulting is supposed to look like and how frightening and confusing it can be, with all the stressful control mechanisms to push us to success. Anne Laure Le Cunff managed to capture perfectly what it truly means to have “success” for our generation while giving the reader the confidence to reframe limiting beliefs of failure.

We are exhausted by the ubiquitous self-help books that purport to have the winning formula but actually lead down another self conscious dead end street.

Action based solutions are brilliantly presented in a non-one-size-fits-all formula where it’s truly adaptable across disciplines and personality types.

Laziness & procrastination has advantages? I’m sorry what?? Backed by scientific research? You had me at “Tiny Experiments” with a sprinkling of colorful dots on the cover.

I not only feel okay about traits that were assigned to failures - but actually redubbed them as my superpowers. I’ve reached a new and healthier level of understanding myself.

Through her pragmatic & logical research, Dr. Le Cunff helps you realize you can accomplish the seemingly impossible - rather rephrase to realize that there is no such thing as the impossible.

The theories and concepts will literally change the way you think, question age old taboos and stereotypes of the neurodiverse - viewing ADD as advantageous to success. The wisdom shared is palpable. It provided me with the insight I needed to begin to more deeply understand myself and patterns and find new pathways to breaking said patterns in a holistic, pragmatic and sustainable way.

Other books have not spoken to me to this depth or degree - I would make this mandatory reading for every human being who wants to simply be at the top of their game while still embodying that joie de vivre - oh to be French!

Curiosity clearly didn’t kill the cat.
If you’re ready for it, this book will be the catalyst to radically change your approach to life - so attainable it’s scandalous!

[Deirdre K]

Thank you @avery_books for this gifted copy of Tiny Experiments by @neuranne Anne-Laure Le Cunff.

Who is the ideal audience for this book? Maybe a new college graduate who is debating between a linear career path and following their own curiosity —or someone feeling stuck on the conveyor belt of their career.

Nothing about my career has been linear. I was the first in my family to earn a bachelor degree. I’ve been a high school English teacher, a website builder, a copywriter, a restaurant critic, a small business owner, a communications manager for an engineering college, and a director of communications for a county library system. Curiosity fueled each path.

I love experiments and what Le Cunff calls “pacts.” I enjoyed @beckyhigginsllc’s Project 365 — taking a photo every day in 2010, and then creating a 1second-a-day (daily-ish) video in 2016. Writing 100 stories in 100 days in celebration of the CU Archives 100th birthday in 2018. Reading a different short story every day for a month in 2015 with @onelitchick, embracing @angierockowfitness 2025 challenge to watch every Nora Ephron movie. One year Bri and I tried to come up with regular date nights that weren’t dinner and a movie (oh the days when there were always great movies we wanted to see!). I’ve always loved tiny experiments.

Her ideas about toxic productivity resonated but she lost me with this line: “Let’s be honest: Nobody really wants to live a productive life. We want to express ourselves, connect with others and explore the world.”

Will I sound like a boomer when I agree with those three but also want to be of use? I’ve always loved Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s response when @gretchn
asked her the secret to a happy life: “Worth worth doing.”

That’s resonates to my core, whether it be digging weeds in our garden, changing a child’s diaper, cooking a meal or yes, writing a news story for a university.


I want to push back on some ideas. There is a lot to be said for considering your legacy, the impact you leave behind—I see it as encouragement to plant oak trees instead of populars and contribute to causes that may not “succeed” in your life time. Le Cuff says “generativity” is a better focus—your immediate actions here and now. I don’t think they’re as different as she does—legacy just lets go of immediate results, in my opinion. The book suffers from a lot of dualistic thinking in order to make her ideas stand out in contrast to others.

The more linear career path can be great for some. Brian graduated with a business degree but once he fell in love with forestry, wildland firefighting and fuels management, that became the focus of his graduate studies and his work for the past 30 years.

I appreciated her reference notes and index, though I’m surprised to read about the space between stimulus and response and not find any attribution to Viktor Frankl or even Stephen Covey.

Le Cunff has built an online community called Ness Labs—so maybe she is offering something younger adults are craving. There were good ideas here but also a lot of selective examples and some self-help fluff.

I was excited to see Oliver Burkeman provided a blurb but I should have noted that Tara Schuster did too. My favorite nonfiction writer and my least: that about sums up my reaction to the book as well.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendously helpful and well-written, as self-help books go (and I read a lot of them)! Of course, everyone struggles with different things, but if you’re someone who is plagued by the runaround on the proverbial hamster wheel of productivity, this book is tremendously freeing and encouraging. It also contains the single best chapter I’ve ever read on understanding and dealing with procrastination. The focus is entirely on curiosity and generativity rather than productivity and activity… a message I truly needed to read this summer. I read a library copy, but may actually purchase my own copy for future re-reading and reference. Top five in my 2025 reads so far!

[Jochen Deferme · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a productivity book per se, but rather a book about embracing your curiosity, letting go of a predefined path or destination, and seeing where this curiosity brings you. Like this you can live a less tradional, but more fulfilling life.

This especially appeals to me because my own professional journey already has a few twists and turns, driven by curiosity, and it allows me to look at my path through a different lens.

There are lots of great ideas in this book. The downside is that they do not all connect very well into a single overarching book theme. This is where it shines through that originally these ideas started as blog posts. I was not familiar with the ness labs blog and community but have become a fan after reading this book.

[Piia Appo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mõnus elustiili raamat loomingulisele inimesele, kel on vaja pisikesi samme, et tegutseda.

Kõiki nõuandeid korraga on muidugi raske katsetada ja proovida, aga vähemalt annab autor suuna, kust alustada. Raamatus on ka väga head näited inimeste lugudest, mis konkreetse eksperimendi vajalikkust kinnitavad.

[Jack Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, Better than Atomic habits

[Mariella Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really recommend to anyone feeling confused or behind in le 20s!! I wouldn’t say there are particularly new ideas in this book but Le Cunff’s ideas are very simply and beautifully presented. A lovely reminder to follow that flow and everything that comes with it ✨