Of course, you should keep reading!

Too often we over simplify things by tossing the word just in there.  And sometimes, it is justified (sorry, love puns), “I just have to send that email.”  Which is already written, ready to go in your outbox and all you have to do is hit “send.”  But other times situations are more complicated, “They just have to organize the party.”  Which, in theory the task may be simple but includes many actions: create guest list, invite guests, coordinate food, coordinate decorations, find location, etc. etc.  These actions can all become time consuming, even though they may be fairly straight forward.

So, after you ask yourself what has to be done for the outcome to occur, quickly guestimate an amount of time for those actions.  If it is a couple of minutes, than you are using Just appropriately.  But if it is a couple of hours or days, than Just does not appropriately describe the scenario.  Keep in mind if you have to wait for someone else, (i.e. the printers to print the invitations) it often adds a little more complication and more time.  Suddenly when looking at this or that situation, just may be an oversimplification of everything that has to occur in order to achieve your desired outcome.

Don’t over commit yourself or your team by oversimplifying tasks with the adverb Just!  When we have limited time and resources, something that is just that easy might not be just that simple.

And if I just described someone on your team, encourage them to think through their statement more by asking the same questions as above: What has to happen for the outcome to occur?  And how much time will each action step take?

Just (Adverb): Within a brief preceding time; but a moment before.