ADHD Escape Room – Day 2 Revamp Reflection

It hit me last night while playing around with prompts on ChatGPT—this isn't just a teaching tool. It's not about "delivering information." This project is about inciting rebellion. It's about challenging the system, provoking change—not simply educating. That's a big difference, even if my method hasn't changed, just the framing.

So, I've decided to stop dressing this up as conventional training. It's not. And maybe that's why it hasn't been warmly received. Maybe they sensed the rebellion under the surface and got scared. So instead of hiding it, I'm going to lean in. Be upfront about it. Just do it.

11:36 AM Update

I went for a walk and let the ideas simmer. It's escalated a bit—now I'm thinking about running this as a full-on interactive story that spans three immersive rooms and even some classrooms. It would get people moving, immersed, more engaged. But obviously, it comes with risks—people might not want to move around, or they could go off-script. Still, it feels exciting.

I'm fleshing out the story: it begins with participants being sent to track down Holbrook. Then, plot twist—they're told to destroy the information he was working on. Lupa, a rogue agent, is introduced—maybe she's said to have killed Holbrook. Later, the participants learn about ADHD through hidden documents and personal files.

Eventually, Lupa reappears and offers them a choice: turn her in or work with her. Right now, I'll stick with the "work with her" route to keep things manageable. The story continues: Looper was actually part of a mole hunt, working for the agency all along. Holbrook, it turns out, was trying to dismantle a corrupt system. He couldn't trust anyone. In a tragic twist, he ends up taking his own life—his ADHD and RSD (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria) playing a role.

The metaphor here? The agency is the college, the system it serves is society's broader industrial model. The participants aren't rebelling against the college—they're resisting the rigid system around it.

Later Reflections

I started working on character development—dictated some rough ideas and will print them out to edit by hand. My working memory just can't cope with switching screens and tabs. I need to accept that, not fight it. Working with it, not against it, is key.

The characters are a bit cliché, sure—it's a spy drama after all. But it's getting big, and honestly, I might need a metaphorical meat cleaver to trim this down. Fitting all this into a one-hour session alongside actual learning content? That's going to be tough.

Part of me wonders if I'm using character development as procrastination. But I'm also being thorough. Maybe both. I know I need to start mapping out the plot properly. I need a better name than "The Agency"—but maybe its simplicity works.

There's also a nagging fear: What if I put all this work in and no one engages with it? Still, I feel this version is so much stronger than the previous one. Feedback from Dean and Joe—while frustrating—didn't change my mind because of what they said, but how they reacted. That's what made me rethink.

I'm still annoyed they didn't read the original rationale. I keep replaying that. And yeah, I've had petty thoughts—like quitting the immersive lead role as a form of protest. But really, what's the point? I could just do what others do—bare minimum, collect the stipend.

Personal Frustrations and Moving Forward

I think I can get Jo on board based on how the feedback session went. But it wasn't even supposed to be a feedback session—it was just to show what I'd built. That left me rattled.

I also felt undercut—pitched an idea about improving an outdoor space, got no traction, then heard the exact same idea praised when someone else pitched it. That stung. But I decided to be supportive and offer guidance. Maybe they'll succeed where I didn't.

ADHD has definitely left its fingerprints here—lots of projects, started with passion, left half-done. Dopamine fades and so does momentum. The compost project is another example. I lost motivation when I saw how little people cared—like the guy who said he couldn't wait to throw banana peels in the wrong bin again once I left. That felt ignorant.

But change is hard. People don't like being told what to do. Real change comes from social influence, not mandates. And maybe I can be that person who sparks it—even if that scares me.

Plans and Ideas

I'm going to keep working on this. The multi-room, document-heavy structure increases interaction. The more senses I can engage, the better it will stick. I'm aiming for a kind of inception—they leave thinking it was their idea all along.

One fun idea: enamel pins or certificates for people who complete the training. Something they wear on their lanyards to show they've done it. A kind of Fight Club-style secrecy—you only talk about the experience with others who have the pin. Keeps the mystery alive.

I may start telling people the project has been scrapped—just to see who comes asking for it again. Might be a good way to gauge interest.

So yeah, I've successfully avoided my actual work today. But it's the weekend, and this has still been productive. Progress through procrastination—my favorite kind. I'll sit down later and flesh out the early stages. I need to keep this manageable before it balloons out of control.

This may become my final major project. I might even get someone else on the team to mark it. And if they've read this far, bless them—for reading through all my waffle.