Field Experiments

January 2025 I started my scariest out-of-the-lab experiment to date.

I had just let go of my job and my PhD credentials to chase my own version of success: time and location freedom with creative online writing work.

I won’t lie, the first nights I couldn’t sleep thinking of the future me living in elderly poverty. But before fully commiting, I made sure I had at least six months worth of living costs saved. 

Then, I made a pact with myself. 

I would spend the next 6 months figuring this freelancing thing out, judgement free and giving myself no out before that time is up.

What could go wrong? Worst case scenario I would plan to look again for full-time employment. Best case scenario, I could design my own working hours, work on creative projects of my choosing, and find people that have the same doubts about following a default path. 

It was time to design my first Field Experiment.

It turns out, I unknowingly followed what neuroscientists Anne-Laure Le Cunff labels as the pact format, which follows the formula:

I will [action] for [duration].

A pact is completely outcome independent and exclusively focuses on the outputs. This is why it’s important to be designed in such a way that it gives you confidence to start and a sense of fulfilment at the end, whatever the outcome. 

You don't need to do a 180 on your life like I did, but you can start with small experiments. 

Examples of pacts are:

I will publish 100 articles in 100 working days (Anne-Laure’s initial pact!)

I will publish 100 tweets in 100 days (the beginning of the Tweet100 free challenge created by Jay Clouse back in the old twitter days)

I will journal for 100 days (reported pact that author Suleika Jaouad took during a specifically difficult time. The Book of Alchemy will help you achieve this goal!)

Creating a pact forces us to act with more agency because it prioritizes the action over planning. Commitment over motivation. Repetition over waiting for confidence. 

Note that a pact is different from creating a habit, although it is very possible that a pact could potentially convert into one. 

I am now almost 2 years into the freelancer and creator journey and there are still so many things I want to achieve. But that doesn’t mean it gets easier with time (or expertise).

I recently saw a post on social media asking if a PhD is curing imposter syndrome.

I have good news and I have bad news. 

The bad news is: no, it does not cure impostor syndrome. In fact, the The worst impostor syndrome I have ever felt was the very morning of my PhD thesis defense, four years ago today.

There is this quote somehow attributed to Albert Einstein saying "The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know."  

But here is the good news: Instead of fighting it, It serves you better to accept that you will never, ever have all the answers. And that is okay. It is much more noble and interesting to stay curious, keep experimenting, failing, and learning from your mistakes.

Your exercise for this week is to create your first pact.

As a reminder, this is the formula to follow:

I will [action] for [duration].

And, if you are up for it, share it with me by replying to this email!

This season of life, mine will be:

I will write on my book for 1,5h 5 days a week until December 18th 2026.

PS. If you don’t know what your pact should look like you may get some new ideas next week! We are going deeper into taking your creative impulses more seriously.

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Keep up the audacity,

Laura