ADHD – A Personal Walkthrough & Guide

So, “controversial” opinion, I’m sure, but I really don’t like doing my taxes.

They’re never straightforward! They’re always more complicated than they should be!

Doing them carefully takes me way too long, but since I really don’t want to rush through and make a careless mistake, I always end up being super thorough.🤦🏻‍♀️

Basically, the process of doing taxes is the perfect poison for my ADHD brain. And my past experiences suffering through this annually occurring torture means I have a lot of dread surrounding all of it, which only adds to the unpleasantness. 

In fact, I’ve been dreading doing my 2023 taxes since last September!

I had some atypical stuff on the books last year, and I knew that would mean my taxes were gonna be even more complicated and more aggravating than they already are. 🙄

So.. with my feelings around doing taxes clearly established, you may be surprised to learn that, last week, I just.. did ‘em! I got my taxes done in one afternoon!

How did I do that?!

A Perfect Trap

Well, I KNEW that asking myself to just “do” my taxes was NOT gonna happen; It was absolutely the last thing I wanted to do that day!

So, I told myself that actually doing them could still wait another week or two, but I decided I would at least make it a little easier for my future self by figuring out what tax software I should install and installing it. 

I know from past experiences that scouting out in advance how I’m going to start a complex task can really help me feel less overwhelmed when the time comes to do it.

Little did I know, however, that I was setting a fiendishly perfect trap!

“Just install the software,” I told myself. “That’s all the tax stuff we gotta do today,” I thought.

So.. I went online and searched for good ol’ turbo tax and went to their site, and before I knew it, I’d signed into my account. I picked out what “package” I’d need to do my taxes, and then “huh, looks like I don’t actually have to install anything.. I can apparently do my taxes right there on the site.” 

Doing the Impossible

Now.. I’d technically done all that I had really set out to do. I got what I needed to start on my taxes but.. well.. I was already there.. and I’d already gotten this far.. so.. I thought, “What the heck! “Why not at least get started! We can at least cover some of the easy stuff right now, right?”

So, I promised myself I could stop whenever I wanted. And told myself that I absolutely did not have to finish anything today; Whatever I was able to get done was a nice bonus for future-Kate. 

(I basically did a variant of the ol’ “Ten Minute Promise”, which I talk about in this post about overcoming inertia.)

To begin, I was going to go sit down at the dining room table, when I remembered that sitting at a desk or table to do my taxes has always felt really stifling and added to my aggravation in past years, so, instead, I grabbed all my tax papers and let myself sit down on the couch. 😊

(Credit to taking the ol’ Path of Least Resistance and doing what actually worked for me instead of what seemed “proper.” 😄)

So, with this mindset of being able to quit whenever I wanted and getting comfortable on the couch, I actually got through my W2s, the additional income stuff, that whole “standard deduction” thing, etc, and about an hour and a half later, I found myself wrapping up my federal tax return! 

And well, I figured since that wasn’t so bad and I seemed to be on a roll, I decided to start on onto my state tax return and before I knew it, I managed to get through that too! 😊

I really expected doing my taxes to be a nightmare, but between the low-pressure mindset I had about doing them that day and not overthinking things too much, it was pretty alright!

(I’ve found viewing things as “a rehearsal” or a “draft” can really help someone like me not to overthink every little thing too. So, overall, the lack of an expectation for me to get it all done that day was a huge help in making the entire process less stressful!)

Once I finished up the state taxes, I was beginning to feel worn out and thought about calling it a day, buuut then I thought about how good it would feel to just be DONE with my 2023 taxes. 

So, I gave my ADHD-brain a little fresh air by grabbing a snack and then taking my laptop and tax papers up to the beanbag chair in my room. And then I got started on those local taxes!

The local ones were definitely the most frustrating of the bunch (which is understandable when you’re doing the most manual part of your taxes after you’ve already spent 2.5 hours doing other annoying taxes) but I kept going! And despite wanting to chuck my laptop out a window, I made it all the way to the end! 🥳

On a day when the absolute most I’d intended to do was to install some tax software.. I ended up doing AAAAAALLLLLL my ding dang taxes!! 💃🏻

The Re-tax 📝

Overall, by only asking myself to do one very small step I set myself up to gain a little momentum. A little momentum is all I really needed to get around all that dread and anxiety I had about doing my taxes, and I was able to just.. start! 

And because I viewed it as an optional thing and knew how to respect my limits and allow for my preferences, I was able to keep going!

So, whether it’s doing your own taxes or writing a term paper or cleaning the house.. the next time you encounter a task that you have to do, and know you hate doing, maybe just ask yourself to do the first, simplest, easiest step – nothing else.  

You may only do that one step, and that’s perfectly ok!! 😊

But whether you end up doing it all like I did or just do that first step, you’ll be helping yourself out a lot and surely be glad that you did it.

Happy Tax Season, everyone!