The one-week experiment

Another theme during my interview with HUM4NS Unplugged was the power of personal experiments. This website is full of them, whether in sobriety, training or digital detoxes.

Experiments get plenty of lip service in startup culture, but we rarely utilise them in our personal lives.

For a while, I added a “One-Week Experiment” header to my weekly review. It was a place where I could move distant dreams into something I could try this week.

It only required a few minutes to figure out what initial step I could take now.

At the end of the week, I’d review how it went.

I tried leaving my phone in another room at night (success; it stuck). I tried using Paper to manage my reading list (failure; abandoned).

Before, these ideas rotted on a “try one-day” list. But labelling them as experiments—and giving them a timeframe—brought them to life.

It takes the pressure off. No permanent change. No sweeping life conclusions. Just a test, for one week. Take it or leave it.

Experimentation in one area feeds into others. Tolerance for ambiguity grows and curiosity starts to dislodge habitual stress.

One crappy step beats thirty imaginary ones.