My First Encounter with Jim’s Work
I was scrolling through forums about personal productivity last Tuesday when this weirdly effective sales pitch caught my eye. Some guy named Jim Brogan claimed he’d hacked the attention economy without using fancy apps or expensive courses. Honestly, I rolled my eyes – seen it all before, right? But curiosity got me. Ended up binge-watching three of his free workshop snippets. Dude doesn’t even use PowerPoint! Just a scratched-up whiteboard and cold brew coffee.
Trying His Weird Morning Routine
Next morning, I dragged myself out of bed at 5:15 AM. Normally I’d start emails immediately, but Jim insists on doing “stupid simple thinking time” first. Grabbed a notebook and wrote three sentences:
- What sucked yesterday? Couldn’t finish proposal because kept switching tabs
- What’s absolutely necessary today? Ship proposal draft by noon
- What feels scary? Calling Karen about billing dispute
Took four minutes. Didn’t touch my phone once. Felt like doing yoga with my brain.
The Magic Happened After Lunch
Usually I hit productivity zombies around 2 PM. Jim’s method? Set alarm for 25 minutes to attack the “scary thing”, then reward with absurd 10-minute breaks. My version: Called Karen clutching stress ball. Actual call lasted 9 minutes! Then I did interpretive dance to Spice Girls in my socks. Neighbors probably think I’m nuts. Doesn’t matter – finished proposal before deadline for first time this month.
Why This Sticks Unlike Others
See, most gurus sell complicated frameworks like Ikea furniture with missing parts. Jim’s whole thing feels like duct tape and bubble gum – embarrassing but shockingly effective. No subscription, no community feed, no analytics dashboard. Just:
- Diagnose daily friction points in plain English
- Do deep work in panic-sized chunks
- Counterbalance stress with deliberate silliness
Tried automating this with apps. Epic fail. The manila-paper-and-crayons vibe forces brutal honesty apps camouflage with notifications.
Where I’m At Now
Been doing this messy system for 17 days. Still forget some steps. Still dance badly. But shipped four client projects versus last month’s one. Funny thing? Feels less like productivity and more like constantly fixing a leaky boat with chewing gum. And dang if it ain’t floating.
