differences - Ambiguous connotation of "just" - How do natives interpret these?

First of all, these questions are a bit related but not what I'm actually asking about:

And this answer to the second question as well as its comment does indicate the problem I'm continually encountering.

I tend to overuse the word just. Sometimes I don't even recognize it but if I carefully re-read my English I often find sentences like:

• I've just implemented the method.


• I've just eaten an apple.


• I've just closed my eyes for a few seconds.

The problem is, that in all these sentences I don't want to emphasize that I did that recently, just a couple of seconds/minutes ago, or that it might have any connection to the present, i.e. my present actions, although the action indeed just happened of late (and that's why I use the perfect).

In these cases just is meant to be simply or only:

A: Are you gonna eat with us to lunch now?

B: Sure, I only ate an apple and now I'm really hungry.

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A: Are you tired?

B: No, I simply closed my eyes for a few seconds trying to focusing on the issues.

While these two sentences are just examples I invented for this question, the first sentence I introduced above is one of those I actually wrote. Regarding this first example, I consulted an American colleague and asked him how would he interpret the sentence

• I just implemented the method.

and he answered:

When a native English speaker reads that, they do not understand the 'just' to mean that you recently performed the action - they understand it to me that you 'simply' performed the action. It gives the connotation that you could have done more if you had spent more time on it, but getting it done quickly and easily was more important to you.

So far I'm happy with this answer, but I still have some further questions:

• How do British natives interpret that, especially when using the perfect?




• How do you (Briton or American) emphasize the other meaning, i.e.

  
  
  
  
  
  • if you understand just as recently do you use only (which sounds somehow awkward to me in sentences in perfect tense) or do you rephrase the sentence as I did with the invented examples, or
  
  
  • if you understand just as only how do you then emphasize recently?
  
  

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The main purpose of this question is to find out if I should put more focus on phrasing these kind of sentences, i.e. using simple past even for an action happened just now when I want to emphasize only, or if I can go ahead using this sentence structure.

Answer

I use just very often in speech and casual writing. I tend to edit it out of more formal writing. I am a native American English speaker from Tampa and Boston.

To me, it can have both meanings, and I don't think that I have a preference. Your examples are all ambiguous to me. I think that the meaning is often clear from context (don't underestimate the power of context!), as in:

1) I'll be there soon. I just woke up. (recently)

2) I didn't call her. I just sent her an email. (merely)

3) I tried, but I just don't understand. (simply)

I don't see how changing tenses or aspects can help you, except that the future and simple present (always?) rule out the recently interpretation. But all of the following are equally ambiguous to me (sans disambiguating context).

4) I [just ate/am just eating/was just eating/have just eaten/etc.] an apple.

When I want to be crystal clear, I just replace just with merely, only, simply, or suchlike. I think that I less often change just to recently. I think I more often say just now to indicate that I mean recently.