Stop Planning, Start Experimenting: A Science-Backed Approach to a Better Life with Anne-Laure Le Cunff

All the Hacks: Money, Points & Life

Chris Hutchins

Business, Society & Culture, Education, Self-improvement, Investing, Places & Travel

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2026

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

#268: Learn why setting big goals might actually be holding you back and what to do instead. Chris and Anne-Laure explore how to replace goal-setting with tiny, low-risk experiments that lead to more growth, more joy, and less burnout. Anne-Laure Le Cunff is a neuroscientist, writer, and founder of Ness Labs, a learning community at the intersection of science and self-development. She is the author of Tiny Experiments and publishes a weekly newsletter on mindful productivity, creativity, and growth. Link to Full Show Notes: https://chrishutchins.com/tiny-experiments-anne-laure-le-cunff/ Partner Deals Shopify: $1/month trial for the easiest e-commerce platform DeleteMe: 20% off removing your personal info from the web Gelt: Skip the waitlist on personalized tax guidance to maximize your wealth Green Chef: 50% off on your first box + 20% off for two months with code 50ALLTHEHACKS Superhuman: Free month of the fastest and best email with code ALLTHEHACKS For all the deals, discounts and promo codes from our partners, go to: ⁠chrishutchins.com/deals⁠ Resources Mentioned Anne-Laure: Website | Newsletter | Instagram Tiny Experiments Ness Labs ATH Podcast Ep #256: The Easy Way to Build and Maintain Meaningful Relationships with Nick Gray Leave a review: Apple Podcasts | Spotify Email for questions, hacks, deals, and feedback: podcast@chrishutchins.com Full Show Notes (00:00) Introduction (01:01) The Problem with Setting Big Goals (02:42) When Goal Setting Becomes Counterproductive (03:41) Why Tiny Experiments Beat Goals (06:07) The Missing Ingredients That Make Experiments Actually Work (08:29) How an Experimental Mindset Rewires Your Brain (10:11) How Anne-Laure Adopted an Experimental Mindset (13:38) What Happened When Anne-Laure Redefined Success (16:29) How to Run a Tiny Experiment (18:22) Real-World Examples You Can Try Immediately (20:10) Why Smaller Is Always Better When Starting Out (22:28) How to Experiment Without Burning Out (25:05) Tracking Both External Results and Internal Signals (30:10) The Simple Weekly Review That Keeps Experiments on Track (32:18) Balancing Experimentation With Actually Living Your Life (35:45) Applying Experimentation to Financial Security (39:33) The Real Reason We Over-Optimize (42:15) When Optimizing Is Actually the Right Move (46:09) Balancing Excitement With Long-Term Priorities (50:12) Measuring Time Differently (52:20) Simple Rituals for Getting Present (53:25) Why Experimenting Publicly Accelerates Growth (57:26) How to Run Your Very First Experiment (59:26) Where to Find Anne-Laure and Her Work Connect with Chris ⁠Newsletter⁠ | ⁠Membership⁠ | ⁠X⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ | ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Editor’s Note: The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Most of us plan our lives around a destination, where we want to be in five years,
0:04.0	what milestones we need to hit, what success is supposed to look like? But what if the best
0:08.6	version of your life is one you never could have predicted? In this episode, I sit down with
0:12.9	neuroscientist and Laura LeCumph, who's built a whole framework around replacing big plans
0:18.6	with small time-bound experiments,
0:23.7	and the results are counterintuitive and fascinating.
0:26.6	We cover why our brains resist uncertainty,
0:28.4	even when it's where all the growth is, a 15-minute weekly review that helps you course-correct in real-time
0:31.9	and how to actually design experiments in your life that will teach you something.
0:36.6	As she puts it, you want to be able
0:38.7	to look back in five years or in 10 years and tell yourself, wow, there was absolutely no way
0:46.7	I could have predicted that this is where I would have ended up. I'm really excited for this one.
0:52.2	I'm Chris Hutchins. If you enjoy this episode, please leave a
0:54.9	comment or share it with a friend. And if you want to keep upgrading your money, points in life,
0:58.9	click follow or subscribe. And Lor, I feel like everyone, myself included, have been told that the key
1:05.3	to a better life is setting really clear goals. But I think you disagree, right? I completely disagree. And I know goals give us a
1:14.1	sense of certainty, a sense of comfort. It feels good, right? When you feel like you have a clear
1:19.0	goal and a clear plan and then you just need to execute on it. But there is quite a bit of research
1:24.4	showing that a lot of those big goals are actually sending us for failure.
1:29.0	Why?
1:29.6	Well, several reasons.
1:31.4	The first one is that goals are based on the idea that you have a very clear idea of what you want in the first place, which in a lot of cases we don't.
	...

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