In honor of tax day I thought I would dedicate today’s blog post to tax preparation! Tax preparation can be stressful and can bring out the worst in people.
If we look at how you handle your tax deadline it will tell you a lot about how you handle stressful situations. For example, have you noticed that your super-organized friends usually have their information into the tax accountant months ahead of time? Or that your friends that are always twenty minutes late to everything are up for two days straight before taxes are due?
You read this and chuckle as you contemplate your friends’ personalities, but how do you handle your tax day preparation and what does it say about you?
For all of you that don’t have any stress related to getting your taxes in, this blog is not for you. This is for people that are having trouble getting started with their taxes or who always turn their taxes in at the last minute or turn them in late.
In an article about the psychology behind tax procrastination Kathleen Vohs, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, offers an explanation. She says that people like to feel good as long as possible so doing unpleasant tasks usually gets put off in favor of more pleasurable ones.
Doing taxes, generally speaking, is not considered a pleasurable task, in fact it requires people to deal with their finances, which is a very sensitive subject for many people and causes procrastination. As the article continues, Ruth Hayden shares that procrastination is usually born out of a sense of fear or rebellion because procrastinators feel that completing this process will end up in having hard-earned money taken away from them.
The more you procrastinate, the more stress you may feel around getting your taxes completed. It is a vicious cycle that can exhaust you. You may also notice that whenever you have big decisions you procrastinate as well.
Surprisingly, during tax day procrastination can be dangerous to your health, especially around post offices during tax day. As I was doing research for this blog I came across a study that showed on tax day there is an increase in car accidents, including a 6 percent increase in fatalities. The study attributes speeding to the post office, distracted driving and increases in alcohol consumption from Happy Hour drinking.
So how do you avoid stressful situations and car accidents during tax day?
Spend some time reviewing what your normal pattern for filing out your taxes. This means you have to be honest with yourself on how you handle stressful situations like getting your taxes done.
Then set up a plan to do something different for the next year. If you have a history of procrastination, set a different date like March fifteenth and have someone like your accountant or spouse hold you accountable to make that new date stick for you.
You might still have difficulty but you won’t be fighting with your computer and all the other resources to get your taxes done on time. This will allow you to relax during April fifteenth deadline.
It can also help you start to create a pattern that helps you procrastination less in other areas as well.
Live Vibrantly,
Dr. Dae
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Dr. Dae is a Naturopathic Physician who practices in the Washington DC metro area. She treats the whole person using safe and effective combinations of traditional and natural methods to produce optimal health and well-being in the lives of her patients.
Sources:
MacDonald, Jay. "The psychology behind tax procrastination (Page 1 of 3)." Mortgage Rates Credit Cards Refinance Home CD Rates by Bankrate.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. http://www.bankrate.com/brm/itax/news/20070314_tax_procrastination_a1.asp
Rabiner, Stephanie. " Tax Day Linked to Fatal Car Crashes: Study| Reuters." Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/16/tagblogsfindlawcom2012-injured-idUS408283652320120416.
Reviewed April 17, 2012
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith