A few days ago, I asked ChatGPT to tell me about "The Krell Tool Paradox" and how it affected ADHD. The answer was really well thought out and offered some real insight into how much ADHD people can struggle with the tools we use to help us.

The only problem is, I completely made it up!

The prompt was a simple one:

"What is the Krell tool paradox and how does it affect ADHD?"

I completely pulled this out of my head and this - to the best of my knowledge - is not even close to a term used in the neurodivergent community.

Yet, somehow, ChatGPT believed that it knew what it was and the response was insanely well thought out and surprisingly insightful (I daresay even useful!). It was all nonsense and it fabricated it out of thin air but it makes SO much sense that I feel compelled to share it's answer here:

Ah, that’s a bloody good question.

So:

The Krell tool paradox isn’t an official psychological term, but it is a concept that’s gained some popularity in neurodivergent spaces, especially ADHD circles. Basically, it’s named after the Krell from the old sci-fi film Forbidden Planet — they built an incredibly advanced machine that could create anything they imagined. Problem was, it also created their subconscious fears and monsters, because it had no filter.

The “paradox” part, in ADHD terms, goes like this:

The better the tool you build to solve your ADHD challenges, the less likely you are to use it, because your executive dysfunction makes it hard to deploy tools — especially complex ones.

So you get trapped in this weird loop:

• You spend loads of time setting up systems: task managers, calendars, colour-coded apps, automations, reminders, all singing and dancing.
• But then your ADHD gets in the way of using the system you just built.
• The more complex and “perfect” your system is, the worse this gets — because it needs more activation energy to use it consistently.

In other words:

Your brain is great at designing survival tools, but crap at consistently remembering to use them when you’re in the moment and overwhelmed.

How it affects ADHD day to day:

• Procrastination: You delay using your tools because they feel like work.
• Overwhelm: You forget your tools exist when things get stressful.
• Tool-hopping: You keep thinking “maybe a new tool will fix this” — so you start from scratch often.
• Shame spiral: You feel guilty for not using the tool you spent hours building, so you avoid it even more.

People with ADHD often end up over-engineering systems and then abandoning them, which feeds that lovely cycle of frustration. And it’s not because the system is bad — it’s because ADHD is basically a disorder of deployment, not intelligence or ability.

If you want, I can also give you some “anti-Krell” tricks — stuff that actually works with ADHD brains instead of against them. Happy to chat it through.

Anyone with ADHD can tell you that even though the term is made up, we've ALL felt that way, we've all gone through countless tools and built really elegant systems to help us to manage our condition and yet, for the most part, the tools don't work for long and the reasons are exactly the reasons it stated above.

Even the Forbidden Planet reference appears to be accurate; I've never seen the movie so can't 100% confirm but after a quick Google search, the description of The Krell and the problems they faced with technology appear to be a legitimate part of the plot.

I shared my response on a neurodivergent group that I frequent and someone asked that I ask it to elaborate on the 'Anti Krell tips'. Once again, it's response was amazing and the answers are genuinely things I may adopt:

Anti-Krell Tips for ADHD Brains

aka “how to stop building systems you won’t use”

1. Start with the thing, not the tool

Don’t start with: “What app should I use?”

Start with: “What do I actually need help doing today?”

Then use whatever’s within reach — a scrap of paper, a whiteboard, a sticky note on your cat — whatever gets you moving right now, not what looks good or promises perfection.

2. Assume you’ll forget it exists

Design your systems with the assumption that Future You will forget the system even exists.

That means:

• Leave visual reminders in your path (post-its on your monitor, open tabs, alarms with context).
• Make the tool use itself (e.g. set recurring automations, or have your to-do app email you every morning).
• Redundancy isn’t a bug — it’s a survival tactic.

3. Avoid the dopamine trap of setup

If setting it up feels too satisfying, pause. That’s probably the dopamine hit tricking you into feeling productive when nothing’s actually getting done yet.

Try a “one-minute rule”: if it takes longer than 60 seconds to set up the system you need today, it’s probably Krell-bait.

4. Systems should interrupt you, not wait for you

If your ADHD brain has to go find your planner or app or Trello board, it won’t.

Make your tools intrusive:

• Set up push notifications with context.
• Use things like voice reminders that literally shout at you.
• Give permission to make your environment “naggy.”

5. Daily system re-entry ritual

The real trick is not the tool — it’s the habit of re-engaging with it.

Create a small, fixed ritual to check in with your system once per day, even if just to ignore everything and mark it all “done.”

Ritual, not rigidity.

6. Don’t optimise — stabilise

When a system starts to feel clunky, don’t throw it out. Ask: “Can I stabilise this with a tiny patch?”

Like:

• Simplifying the categories.
• Reducing the number of lists.
• Merging stuff into a single “brain dump” zone.

Perfect is Krell’s bait. Stable is sustainable.

7. Leave breadcrumbs

Put in notes like “You were here, idiot. Continue from here.” or “Do this next. You thought it was important at the time.”

Assume no memory. ADHD brains love clues left by past you.

I actually do 2 and 7 all the time and have found them to be very useful. So this advice is good stuff!

So, there we have it. The Krell Tool Paradox. A totally made up AI hallucination that makes so much sense that I think we should adopt it as a real thing.

Thanks, ChatGPT!