Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Try chopping it up into small tasks. Day 1: get all the paperwork together that you can easily find. Day 2: organize the paperwork. Day 3: look for paperwork that is missing.
Etc. Start with the easiest parts.
Then reward yourself. Once you do your daily tax chore, give yourself a reward. TV show? Chocolate? Warm bath? Wine?
If your accomplishing some of the tax work, it should help with your anxiety, but doing one small portion a day won't seem as overwhelming.
Just a thought.
Good advice. I think the disorganization caused a lot of stress and irritation. I need the more disciplined approach. Thank you.
I have been a software developer for 41 years and absolutely love it ... but nevertheless, I am starting to notice that I'm really becoming more avoidant around certain aspects of the job that I never did like but always was able to tolerate.
Everyone has internal resistance to certain things they don't like doing but there are conditions (autism spectrum disorder, ADHD-I, various anxiety disorders, executive function issues, certain phobias) that exaggerate this problem and make it considerably harder to "push through" and force yourself to follow through on things you don't like. So why wouldn't the declining energy levels and increasing pain levels of aging tend to do this?
The best you can do is stay as healthy as you know how to ... be careful to get needed rest and appropriate exercise ... and if you get to the point where you can't handle some task (your job, driving, whatever), whether because you can't stand it anymore or just simply can't do it -- learn to let go and do without.
Driving is a great example. My Dad kept driving beyond what he should have, and at age 83, did not see or completely misjudged an oncoming vehicle, turned in front of it, and it resulted in the death of my 81 year old mother. So I pay a lot of attention to my reaction times and judgement and if I or other family members come to question it, it'll be time to sell the car and do without. No room for denial or foolish pride when it comes to such things.
When I can no longer enjoy (find joy in) my work, I will cut back or stop altogether. Fortunately I'm not there yet because we need the income, but I am already 6 months beyond full retirement age so it can't last forever.
Oh my goodness. I am very sorry about your mother. That's so tragic.
Great insight into the intersection of aging or other "executive function issues" (ADD seems to be an issue - not hyperactive anymore and that might be part of the problem - lol) and energy decline - the energy decline is a major factor, I think - before I could just "soldier on," and now I can't (and I seem to be super pissed about that). I have not been paying attention to balance in life in terms of getting out and taking walks, etc. It's been raining, so that's been my excuse. I made myself get out yesterday and my dog thanks me. I hope I become more mindful about all of this.
A lot of the tips are simple time-management, which I think most of us already know; it's a matter of implementing them even with the knowledge of how to do it, which is what I think OP is struggling with.
I used to have rental property and got rid of it a long time ago. I realized I no longer had the appetite for it, and it was becoming increasingly difficult and onerous to manage as a single woman with no help. The only way I would own a rental now is using a property manager at a vacation resort, and maybe not even then. I'm not sure who would "do the taxes" in that case (an accountant, I'd hope), but if it stressed me out, I wouldn't bother.
You may want and need to simplify your life at this point, and maybe that's what your procrastination is telling you. Taxes are a simple matter when you own just one home.
Especially if you pay someone to do it or have it done for free, as I do!
But certain things DO need to be done and CAN'T be eliminated or delegated, and that's what OP needs help with.
Time management is an issue - on the one hand, I am retired, and think I "should" be able to do whatever I want, whenever I want. I live my life strictly by intuition and how I feel, and of course, I would never feel like doing anything I don't want to do, so then I have to wrestle with myself and make myself do stuff and I'm rebelling against myself. Talk about a negative feedback loop.
It's all me, dealing with me.
Makes me go way back and wonder what the intrinsic motivation was for doing well in school - there was some idea that it would be beneficial to me - I have to find the carrot of why prepping my taxes is beneficial to me - and the reason is because to not do it would result in further chaos, frustration, and problems.
The question of seniors eventually not being ABLE to do stuff has still not been adequately broached (I don't think). It's a partially psychological issue that *we* have to accept certain limitations and indignities - it's not a simple, linear process. And when you have people around you who think aging is just getting gray hair (not comprehending the loss of energy, etc.), it makes it harder for me to accept my limitations. And then there are those stories of exceptional seniors who are out mowing fields at age 99. I feel like that's what I "should" be aspiring to, and that's proving to be a tough pill to swallow. I have always been high achieving, so it feels like losing not to be able to "compete" in that way.
I still love to drive and do a lot of road trips to see family, but I despise driving in traffic. So when possible, I'll take the back roads and state routes through lovely small towns, forests and mountains. Yes, it will add time to the drive but to me it's very calming and stress relieving.
We still have our business so I have to file 32 different tax forms a year. I take the extension on the 1040 and take my time getting all the tax prep done. We went through the big bad IRS research audit years ago and the agent showed me how he wanted everything sorted on Excel spreadsheets so he could verify each item easier. So that's how I've done it ever since. I don't mind doing taxes but yes, the tax prep is the time consuming part.
And I don't want to work anymore either, lol. But due to the covid shutdowns we have to push our retirement out about 5 more years so it is what it is.
I still love to drive and do a lot of road trips to see family, but I despise driving in traffic. So when possible, I'll take the back roads and state routes through lovely small towns, forests and mountains. Yes, it will add time to the drive but to me it's very calming and stress relieving.
We still have our business so I have to file 32 different tax forms a year. I take the extension on the 1040 and take my time getting all the tax prep done. We went through the big bad IRS research audit years ago and the agent showed me how he wanted everything sorted on Excel spreadsheets so he could verify each item easier. So that's how I've done it ever since. I don't mind doing taxes but yes, the tax prep is the time consuming part.
And I don't want to work anymore either, lol. But due to the covid shutdowns we have to push our retirement out about 5 more years so it is what it is.
Wow! That's a lot of forms and work. I hate Excel - that would be a nightmare for me! You are in true business mode!
Great attitude with the driving the long way to appreciate scenery and accepting you have to work five years more than you planned.
A year or so before I retired I started a spreadsheet 1040.
It takes a couple of hours to set it up but it's well worth it in my opinion since it helps me organize my paperwork and shows a parallel track of our tax calcs since I take all info to a guy who does our taxes. Last year my result was a refund of lesser amount than CPAs which led me to discover I had made a mistake in data entry.
After retirement I incorporated SS and Dividend calcs in separate areas on the spreadsheet. That helped too.
We have had someone do our taxes for years except a few after our longtime CPA passed.
The spreadsheet definitely helps me get motivated to neaten up my paper pile. I used to hate Excel too so I know how you feel. I still don't really enjoy it with it's cryptic scolding and nebulous menus but things are better than when I started.
Another thing that makes it better for me is as soon as we get a 1099 I put it with the rest to be given to CPA. Maybe you can work on keeping things in their places as they show up. Like "file to front" and all that, and separate folders for whatever.
DW takes her paperwork tasks by the inch. The pile doesn't get attended to until it is a specified number of inches high, but I just can't live that way.
Also, it's okay to gripe and complain here. I mean really, after this many years of living we all should have griping down to a science even if the rest of our lives are falling apart. Sort of like Erma Bombeck on geritol.
I realize I'm still a retiree toddler at 72 but there are things now that I hate to even think about doing where only a few years ago I really enjoyed them.
...AND how people are acting crazy on planes and how difficult travel has become.... I broke down after I was literally sexually assaulted by TSA in the airport. Pattted down beyond belief.
Yeah, exactly. I'd rather pay $1,000 to $1,500 to visit a family member than $250 in the cattle car scenario. After all, it helps the rich guy with the airplane to be able to claim enough business use to deduct the price of the aircraft (all at once even).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
