Tax Day

April 15^th. The dreaded Tax Day. Possibly you’re among many tax-paying Americans who don’t dread the deadline to file your Income Tax forms. You’re done, and your tax return is in the mail.  If so, then congratulations.

However, for many adults with ADHD, filing tax forms often brings a sense of guilt or gnaw of defense and plethora of excuses as to why the forms are not ready to mail by midnight. On the other hand, the same adult can take heart.  You can easily overcome tax quandaries this year and can be ready for next year’s tax season.

If you’re not ready to file you tax forms this year, quickly expend the time and effort to consult a tax preparation specialist, and learn how you can file for an extension. If you have the forms, but not the money you need to pay, talk to the tax specialist on how you can file now and pay later.

Keep the promise to yourself that you will be ready earlier next year to get your tax forms done on time. Orderly record keeping may not be the most interesting project for you to carry out, but it can be done. When tax time rolls over us, it's important to have a head start on the process of filing.

Whatever it might be, your personal system for organization can serve you well in your record keeping. Possibly for you, it is a simple matter of a large paper grocery bag. I’m not kidding; I saw it work well for a late friend. She was a professional, and she made a super income. She just did not like to take on the challenge of sorting papers related to income tax. The current year’s brown sack sat on the corner of her desk.

Any paper, bill, receipt she thought might be related to taxes went into the sack. “I take it to my tax lady and let her sort out the important ones,” she told me when I laughed at her system. “That’s what I pay her to do.”  It worked. No guess work as to what the tax preparation specialist might need.

Other persons find that they do well with color-coded files, and they make them simple in case another member of the family may need to get to the information. Pick a color that matches your concept of what goes in the file. For example, red is often associated with medical expenses. Yellow is matched with contributions and charity donations. Whichever color you use, it must remind you of the content. Keep these files in a crate or desk drawer that you will see each month. Whenever a tax record comes across your desk that month, file it immediately in the correct file folder. Other persons use open small baskets or containers of different colors. Open baskets allow for a quick toss when sorting important pieces of information.

Of course, you need an incentive for filing those papers each month, so think how you might reward yourself when you do. Undeniably, you are bribing yourself to do something that needs to be done anyway, but persons with ADHD often focus better on any task when there is have a reward or reason for doing so. I expect you will know exactly what works well as an incentive for you.

 

 

 

Five Easy Pieces

Being in one of my frequent reflective moods, I asked Husband: “Do you remember the movie ‘Five Easy Pieces’ ?”

“Yeah. It was the movie that got Jack Nicholson noticed. What about it?”

“I really don’t remember much except the title, but that  really fits well into my way of thinking. I search for short and easy approaches to much of what I do.”

“It was a typical movie of the early 1970’s. It’s OK not to remember much about it.”

“My point is that the title serves me well as a type of idiomatic expression.”

“Nicholson played a gifted pianist who rebelled against his talent and affluent lifestyle. Standard kind of stuff for that era.”

“OK, but my point is the value of learning how to put life into easy steps and make it simple.”

“How do you do that?” Husband asked as if it were a ground-breaking concept.

“Do what?”

“Think about simplifying and organizing and making life easier? How do you think like that all the time?”

“One of us needs to. Besides, I always looking for ways that assist you and others with ADHD to live up to your potential.”

He put me on the spot for a moment when he said, “So tell me five easy steps you discovered to help me.”

 “One: You need an encourager. Two: You need external prompts or motivation. Three: Since you lose basic such as keys and your wallet, you need daily organization. Four: You need to unclutter on a regular basis. Five: You respond well to rewards such as praise.”

“It never ceases to amaze me that people can gather their thoughts in such a concise manner.”

“It never ceases to amaze me that you cannot or will not think with such logic, but that is a topic for another blog.”

The person with ADHD often feels frustrated or clueless about how to approach the daily tasks of life, especially at home, work, or school. Based on our personal experiences, I recommend five easy steps to success:

1.    Connect with an encourager such as a spouse or close friend who can provide support when you are confused or have questions. In addition, seek help from an ADHD coach.

2.   Choose an extrinsic reward system along the lines of your paycheck, a passing grade in a class, an item for gifting yourself when you complete a task. Make it a goal to earn this reward on time, and develop a reminder system that works for you.

3.   If you are a student, create your own study space where you keep the tools and resources you need. Make certain it can be as quiet and private as possible. Make certain you study only in that space. If you go back and forth to your job, allocate a briefcase, book bag, or table space where you place the items you need for the next day, then ask your encourager to help you develop the habit of placing items there before bedtime.

4.   Schedule one day each week for tidying your work space both at home and on the job.

5.   Ask your associates and family at home, work, and school to point out when you have done well completing a task or project. Write notes to yourself on how proud you feel when you accomplish even a small task.

Are you currently seeking an ADHD coach with experience and expertise? We invite you to contact McNay & Voth ADHD Coaching at www.coachadhd.com or phone 316-771-7558.