Man, I stumbled across Jota Neves’ story last month and just got hooked. How does this guy manage so much? Seemed like magic, honestly. So, I decided, screw it, I’m gonna try his “Top 5 Simple Methods” myself. No shortcuts, gotta do it step by step like he probably did. Here’s how my own messy attempt went down:
Getting Started Was Actually Annoying
First things first, I needed a proper workspace. My “office” was basically the kitchen table buried under bills and junk mail. Felt chaotic just looking at it. Cleared that crap off one Saturday morning. Seriously, dumped it all into a box and shoved it in the closet. Outta sight!
- Took 2 hours just to sort and chuck old receipts. Felt pointless, but damn, the empty space felt lighter.
- Bought one cheap desk lamp because my ceiling light sucks.
- Stuck a boring “DO THE WORK” sticky note right on the wall in front of me.
Then Came the Big “Why” Question
Jota keeps banging on about knowing your “Why.” Okay, fine. Grabbed a notepad. Wrote down, “Why am I really trying this?” First answer? “Because I’m sick of feeling lazy.” Wrote that down. Realized it sucked. Dug deeper. Wrote for like twenty minutes, getting frustrated. Finally landed on something kinda shaky, like “To actually finish things I start, for once.” Not perfect, but it felt… real. Kept the notebook open next to my keyboard for a week.
The Early Morning Thing… Ugh
His “5 AM Club” nonsense sounded impossible. My alarm usually screams at 7:30. Tried shifting it to 6 AM first. Nope. That was a brutal, grumpy week. Shaved it down to 6:30. Still sucked. Settled on 6 AM after nearly two weeks of bleary eyes. Key trick? Putting the alarm across the room so I have to get up. First half-hour? Just drink water, stare out the window, maybe stretch a little. No phone. Hardest damn part, honestly.
Putting the Phone to Work (Not Me)
He talks about batching social media. My phone was glued to my hand. Turned off Instagram notifications first. Felt weird, like missing a limb. Then downloaded this free timer app. Forced myself to check stuff only twice a day: 12 PM and 5 PM. Each time, set the damn timer for 15 minutes. Stuck to it? Mostly. Found myself actually bored sometimes. Used that boredom to read a few pages of a book instead. Weird win.
And the “Learning” Bit
Jota apparently learns one new thing daily? Yeah, right. Made it stupid small. Started with 10 minutes a day. First week, watched a dumb YouTube video about fixing a leaky faucet (didn’t even have one). Felt like cheating. Second week, tried a free online language app. Brutal, but actually stuck with it. Key wasn’t quantity, it was just showing up for 10 damn minutes. Consistency, I guess.
Results after 30 Days? Not earth-shattering, but real. Kitchen table’s clear. Waking up at 6 AM doesn’t feel like torture anymore, just… normal. Phone isn’t the boss of me all day. Learned some basics about that language, totally pointless but weirdly satisfying. And that crappy “Why”? Started actually finishing small projects around the house. Fixed the back gate. Painted that patchy wall. Feels less like magic, more like just… finally doing the work. Jota’s stuff ain’t complicated. Just requires actually doing it, messy process and all.
