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Ness Labs by Anne-Laure Le Cunff

A weekly newsletter with science-based insights on creativity, mindful productivity, better thinking and lifelong learning.

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Ness Labs: Your Annual Review 🔬

Edition #253 – December 20th, 2024A newsletter by Anne-Laure Le Cunff READ ON THE WEB Hello friends, I can’t believe this is the final newsletter of 2024. In fact, it’s the last email I’ll send this year. I’m writing to you from Paris, where I’ll be spending the holidays with my family. I have a bittersweet relationship with this time of year. It often feels like a tug-of-war between the desire to make the most of the remaining weeks and the need to rest and recharge. One practice that has...

Edition #252 – December 12th, 2024A newsletter by Anne-Laure Le Cunff READ ON THE WEB Hello friends, I was very excited to see Tiny Experiments featured in Harvard Business Review this week. This unexpected milestone wasn’t something I specifically aimed for, but it feels like a meaningful culmination of years spent distilling research at Ness Labs and crafting this weekly newsletter. This is why I’m such a big advocate for nonlinear goal setting. No, you don’t need to aim for big hairy...

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Edition #251 – December 5th, 2024A newsletter by Anne-Laure Le Cunff READ ON THE WEB Hello friends, This week I finally finished moving houses, although “finished” doesn’t feel quite right — I’m still sleeping on an air mattress, using my desk as a kitchen table, and the living room is missing a sofa. But the previous owner left a big bookshelf, and I got a lot of satisfaction from filling it with my books. Current mood: happy and tired. Fortunately, everything around me seems to be slowing...

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Edition #250 – November 28th, 2024A newsletter by Anne-Laure Le Cunff READ ON THE WEB Hello friends, This is the 250th edition of the Ness Labs newsletter! I honestly cannot believe it myself. This is the most consistent I’ve ever been with a creative project, and I don’t feel tired or bored of it at all. First, I want to say thank you for being part of this journey. It’s no overstatement to say that this newsletter has changed my life. It’s how I’ve made so many new friends. It’s why I was...

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Edition #249 – November 21st, 2024A newsletter by Anne-Laure Le Cunff READ ON THE WEB Hello friends, I just wrapped up an amazing workshop for Yelp where I taught 100 engineers and product managers how to design tiny experiments as a team. Then, I finished packing all of my stuff in time for the checkout inspection with my landlord (I’m moving to a new place, more on that next week). All while staying on top of my academic research. As a writer, entrepreneur, and researcher, people often ask...

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Edition #248 – November 14th, 2024A newsletter by Anne-Laure Le Cunff READ ON THE WEB Hello friends, I thought things would be quieter after completing my PhD, but turns out everybody is scrambling to complete their projects before the world goes into work hibernation until the new year (at least for most knowledge workers). So many little things to wrap up, and it’s been challenging to get into a state of creative flow where I can deeply explore new ideas and do my best writing. I figured,...

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Edition #247 – November 7th, 2024A newsletter by Anne-Laure Le Cunff READ ON THE WEB Hello friends, You know what happened as soon as I completed my PhD? I got sick. A celebratory trip to Italy turned into a series of not-so-cozy naps, and I even ended up ordering pasta to my hotel on Deliveroo because I was too tired to leave the bed. This gave me a lot of time to reflect on the past few years, and I randomly remembered that one time I almost – almost! – launched a business selling rare teas...

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Edition #246 – October 31st, 2024A newsletter by Anne-Laure Le Cunff READ ON THE WEB Hello friends, First, some good news: last week I defended my PhD thesis and I passed! This was unexpectedly emotional for me. My grandmother never had the opportunity to learn to read. My mom had to leave school at 17. I was the first woman in my family to be able to pursue higher education, and now the first to become a doctor. You know another strange thing that happened last week? I got a lot done on...

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Edition #245 – October 24th, 2024A newsletter by Anne-Laure Le Cunff READ ON THE WEB Hello friends, In the life of a doctoral candidate, there are a few important milestones: submitting your research proposal, passing the upgrade exam, publishing your first paper, and defending your dissertation. Tomorrow, I’ll be reaching that final milestone. You might be wondering, “Why on earth is she sending the Ness Labs newsletter the day before her PhD viva?” Well, I needed a productive distraction.To...

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Edition #244 – October 17th, 2024A newsletter by Anne-Laure Le Cunff READ ON THE WEB Hello friends, The great thing about following your curiosity is that you’ll discover many new opportunities. Someone might want to pick your brain, which could turn into a consultancy. You might attend an event and end up joining a community, or share a video about an interesting idea and be invited to speak on a podcast. Or you might become known for having a certain level of expertise on a topic, and your...