Chixe

No. Actually, December is rev up time for me. November, on the other hand, is usually when I go into my shutdown mode.

Workwise, yes. I think it's because I know hellfire is coming once the new year rolls around and clients and CPAs start worrying about taxes for April and haggling me. (Oh right, it might help to disclose I'm in the finance industry.) :)

In other areas I tend to be a bit in cruise mode, but not so much shutting down.

Shutdown?! No! How would it be possible to pay for Christmas gifts?

Publically it appears as though I'm in shut down (not taking on anything new, slowing down the comments and posts...) but internally, I'm hitting it big time with new ideas to hit the new year with.

What is this shutdown you speak of?

I have as many prop parers to write as before, they are calling less meetings so I am in town less, but I do not feel like I'm in shut down mode.

Prior to this year I was always in college on go mode until finals then in shut down mode for a short time afterwards. . I don't think it's the same now but my experience is limited.

I normally don't shut down in December. I keep pace, and maybe slow down a little around Christmas time. My company gives us the week of Christmas off, so that is always nice, but I normally use that time to do my own work.

No more than I do during the rest of the year... I don't usually blog on the weekends.

The only OBVIOUS exception being Christmas Eve (day and night) and Christmas Day and New Years Eve and Day.

Workwise December is not a good month. We work on a quarterly basis and the end of year claim is due in on the 2nd of January... Taking holidays and everything into consideration, we have to have it all ready (as much as possible) by the middle of December.

Panic time basically.

Personally, I do tend to wind down a little from about the 10th of December. I think it's a hang over from school days when it was holiday time! Rather than taking it easy however, I tend to retreat into myself a little, going through everything that I've had hanging over me from the past year, trying to get straight for the new year.

I tend to "shut down" around early January, actually. It has been known to last right up until the final throes of December.

I'm still wondering when I'm finally going to Start Up. I'm getting damn tired of my own laziness!

We launch 1 December, need to get another quote for a year-long project in by the 5th.

Oh, boy, December is gonna rock and roll. So no, no slowdown this year.

I have noticed in previous years, other jobs, there tends to be a slowdown, especially in publishing/print, when it seems a lot of companies close collectively for a week, or two sometimes.

Don't know if that happens abroad though. Does paper get more expensive end of year?

I try to keep the same work pace, and just cram all of the other bits in: shopping, parties, special things at school or in extracurriculars for the kids, decorating, cooking and baking, gift wrapping and mailing. Then by Christmas, I'm a frazzled, scroogy person who really needs to have a two year break before the next holiday season. Never seems to work out that way though.

My husband always says "Don't do as much this year" but I'd really like to know which part he'd like for me to cut out.

As for when I shut down: January, and June. January because I'm in recovery from December, and June because I always have this "restless-feeling" time in June, where I just don't want to work, or do anything at all that I normally do.

I'm pretty much on call all year around and holidays if any comes whenever. This year however, December's pretty much a busy time for me. No holidays. No money. No parties.

If I'm not mistaken I'll be working on starting my intership. Kinda need it to graduate soon enough.

Generally speaking from a work perspective, I do tend to slow down a bit at Christmas time. It happens from about mid-December to the 2nd or 3rd January. My boss often goes back to Canada (from the UK) at this time, and although everything at work is done as though he were there, it is done without him. Therefore, I slow down a bit. It's hard to explain (less people=more work), but I guess I just feel more relaxed, therefore my job doesn't feel as bad. In fact, my productivity increases a bit because my boss isn't getting in my way!

Internet-wise: Last Christmas, while a little tipsy, and with crap on the TV and nothing else better to do, I decided to completely re-work my site. Admittedly I was simply customising an already popular WordPress theme, but it was still a big task for me. Lots of stuff had to be changed. I got to about 95% then forgot about it until March. But still, I was busy on the 25th December 2006. And I expect to be this year as well.

Slow down in December? Not necessarily a slow down, more of a "I'll do what needs to be done and I'll be happy about doing it."

I really do. My work, especially, seems to suffer.

Not so good for me, this year, as I have my dissertation to hand in next week and I haven't even begun to look at it.

Just counting down the days until the 8th of December and I get to go home for a month.

I really do not. I just (re)lauch all this month (my websites, my business...) and damn, I really dislike Xmas!

After a big year of web design and development, it's time to do a bit of business (I'm weak in this field) and maybe find some partner to help me.

A pretty hard december in fact.

I've had to slow down a lot this year so rather than a splat calm december I want to continue on the steady slow plodding that has become part of my day now compared to the mad running about trying to do 100 things at once. Usually though December has been a time when I get out of my brain the things I want to do and take the usual calm in work and make them happen.

i'd love to shut down, but since my work is contract i don't get paid when i don't work, so slow down is not an option. especially when i have to pay for round trip ticket from san fran to dc for holiday

Things slow down at work the week before Christmas, and don't gear back up again until the 2nd week in Jan. We use the time to get ready for end of year processing and cleaning up the warehouse, so it it doesn't get really quiet for us.

I will keep travelling and reading books in December.

Usually in December all the full-timers where I've worked are all taking their non-rollover vacations. So while I am stuck at work, there is no one else here. So nothing to support and nothing much to do besides the random odds-and-ends projects that I've been either putting off or too busy to do.

It's kinda nice. Although, working in IT Support, there's no defined fast or slow time. There's a lot of both and it tends to come at a moment's notice. Such as, when the server team pushes out a java update that breaks compatibility with the timesheet web site so you spend your entire day going around to 45 different PCs to rollback the update.

Gosh I'm trying to shut down. I've been working on one freelance project for 6 months. Bought a new house, started a new job, worked through serious marriage issues, and all this with 2 babies, one of which still isn't sleeping through the night! If only I could take a small break from it all...