Holly Luck, A/g Engagement Director - GovAI

At one of my previous workplaces people called me the “Hollacle” - my name is Holly and they thought I was the oracle of all knowledge. New starters came to me for context, history, and the why behind things. Others came to me when they were stuck. I also got things done fast. 

What nobody knew, including me, was that I have ADHD. I was diagnosed at 35, after a friend noticed similarities between his own struggles and mine and planted a seed that took three years to act on. When I finally received my diagnosis, I cried. Relief, grief, and the ache of understanding myself clearly for the first time. 

My brain retains an enormous amount and cross-references it in ways I can’t fully explain. When something interests me, I am completely unstoppable. But boredom can make starting a task feel physically impossible. And if I don’t know how to do something, the paralysis can be total. Not laziness. Not incompetence. Paralysis. 

How AI changed everything 

For a brain wired like mine, there are two kinds of paralysis. The first is not knowing where to start. The second is carrying so much that you simply cannot hold the shape of it all at once. AI addresses both. 

Not knowing where to start 

When I started in my previous role, I needed to build a customer support plan from scratch. No template, no examples in the agency to draw from. Before AI, this is exactly the task that would have stopped me cold. Instead, I used Perplexity to research global best practices and generate a working template. Then I used Copilot to stress-test it and make sure it was fit for purpose. What could have been weeks of anxious non-starts became something solid and professionally grounded in a fraction of the time. 

Carrying too much 

Recently I asked Copilot to investigate my commitments across the past two weeks and tell me what I’d completed and what was still outstanding. Its response stopped me in my tracks. It told me I wasn’t carrying dozens of unfinished tasks. I was carrying one formal system-tracked task and a cluster of high-impact coordination actions cutting across multiple teams. Then it said: “That combination is cognitively heavy, even if the task count looks small.” 

An AI gave me the reality check my own brain couldn’t. For anyone who has ever ended a day exhausted and convinced they’ve achieved nothing, that kind of clarity is huge. 

Outside of work my AI use looks different, but the value is the same. I’ve used it to prepare a detailed Self-Managed Super Fund report for my husband’s superannuation; as a real-time tracker of a US government shutdown while travelling to America with seven family members in tow; and to create a practical meal plan to support my health after being diagnosed with early perimenopause. Not a glossy wellness plan, a functional one for a real life. 

Built different 

My youngest daughter is on her own ADHD journey. Watching her, I see so much of myself. Because I understand what might be happening in her brain, I’ve been able to have honest conversations with her teachers and our family about what her behaviour could mean, and how to respond in ways that don’t compound the confusion and overwhelm she’s already carrying. 

Practically, we use Goblin Tools(Opens in a new tab/window) (a free AI-powered app) to break overwhelming tasks like “clean your room” into a clear, step-by-step guide that she can follow. It removes the paralysis and gives her somewhere to start. 

She already understands more than most people realise. Just before my sister’s wedding, my sister-in-law, who also has ADHD, became overwhelmed by the noise and chaos and quietly left the group. While my sister apologised to the rest of us, my eight-year-old daughter said: “It’s OK Llama, she’s just built different. She’ll come back when she’s ready.” 

With that kind of understanding and compassion, I know my daughter will be just fine. 

Everyone can benefit from AI

As someone with ADHD, AI helps me function and thrive. But everyone can benefit from generative AI. Whether it's generating new ideas, speeding up your document workflow, or conducting research to make informed decisions, AI can support you no matter how your brain works. And if you've ever felt like starting is the hardest part? There's a tool for that too.

Resources from across the APS

GovAI Interactive Learning Environment
Staff guidance on public generative AI(Opens in a new tab/window) 
2025 APS Academy MasterCraft AI Series(Opens in a new tab/window)