Some people journal in December. I apparently drink spritzes in Paris and call it reflection. Both effective.
It’s 8th December, which means half of your email threads are already speaking in out-of-office energy. The jokes have started. The memes are flying. The “let’s just pick this up in January :)” crowd is flourishing.
And look - I love December! I love the lights, the soft cultural permission to slow down, the collective exhale. But every year, without fail, I’m in two minds.
One part of me is ready to wind down.
To reflect.
To clean up my strategy pages and rearrange my brain for 2026.
To quietly prepare for the next chapter.
And then there’s the other very real part: December is still a working month.
Bills don’t think they’re optional.
Salaries don’t take a holiday.
Clients certainly don’t.
I run my numbers on 12 months, not 11, because that’s how actual businesses work. And honestly, I like working in December. It’s quieter. Less noise, fewer meetings, more meaningful progress.
This is why I always find December funny - it pretends to be a slow dance, but it’s really a balancing act.
And at nuja inc., we’ve learned how to dance with it. Every year from 25 December to 1 January, I let the studio ‘slow down’. Not “everyone disappear.” Not "deducted from your annual leave.” Just, log off a little. Catch your breath. Be human. It’s the slowest week of the year anyway - why pretend otherwise?
But slowing down isn’t the same as switching off. Ideas still flow. Projects still move. And the business still exists.
This duality (rest + responsibility) is the truest December mood I know.
So no, I’m not “already done for the year.” And no, I’m not sprinting till 31 December either.
I’m doing that middle thing - working with intention, resting on purpose, and letting the year close slowly instead of dramatically.
If you’re in the same strange in-between, here’s my two cents: You don’t have to end the year with a bang. You just have to end it well.
And sometimes “well” simply means you stayed steady, showed up, tied the loose ends, and didn’t self-implode.
December isn’t a finish line.
It’s a shift.
A small breath before the next chapter.
And honestly? It’s kind of lovely.
M.
xx
Manuja
Not for everyone. Never was.
