Well, its that time of year again. Preparing yourself to face the music. Whether that tune is a lovely lullaby or a jarring jumble of notes will depend on how well you did this year. However, for the health of your business, your best option regardless will be to take a good solid look at your year so that next will be (even) better.

The end of the year is a perfect time to look at your systems, make plans for the next year, and check on your finances. The new year will be a fresh start, so why not clear off your slate and start ready and raring to go? When preparing for the new year with an end-of-year check-up, you should (at a minimum) look at the following items:

You wake up in the morning, check your phone, and are accosted by 127 unread emails. This is in addition to the 2,963 emails already in your inbox. Both numbers keep growing. It's like Groundhog Day. Every. Single. Day. 

You can't keep up with it and stopped trying about a year ago. You know half of the emails are junk and probably 90% of it could just be deleted at this point, but the very thought of tackling it overwhelms you and you just shut down.