As the calendar turns to December, a peculiar shift sweeps across Nigeria's professional landscape. Offices slow down, entrepreneurs ease up, and teams begin to coast, collectively slipping into "holiday mode" despite a full month of work remaining. However, according to performance strategist Dr. Abiola Salami, this month is not a dead period but a decisive one. In a recent address, he argues that the disciplined few can use December to create significant distance from their peers and set the stage for a superior 2026.
Why December is Your Secret Weapon
Dr. Salami challenges the common perception of December as a finish line, urging professionals to see it as a bonus round. He draws a powerful analogy: imagine a football match where added time is granted. Only a foolish team stops playing. December is that extra time, and it often determines the ultimate winners. This mindset shift is foundational. While others are distracted, opportunities in the market persist—clients still pay, and problems still need solutions. The key is to make strategic moves when competition is at its lowest.
Five Actionable Strategies for Peak Performance
To combat the widespread December distraction culture, Dr. Salami prescribes five core strategies for maintaining focus and building momentum.
1. Reframe Your December Mindset. Stop viewing the month as a break and start treating it as a strategic advantage. Ask yourself what unique progress you can make while others are mentally checked out. This period is ripe for gaining ground precisely because the collective pace has slowed.
2. Practice Selective Participation. A major source of December distraction is an overloaded social calendar. Discipline here means intentionally saying no. You do not have to attend every party, gathering, or end-of-year catch-up. Protect your mental energy by being ruthlessly selective with commitments. Your greatest productivity hack this month is deliberate omission.
3. Chase a Signature Result. Define one significant outcome to achieve before the year ends. This could be finalizing a major proposal, launching a product outline, securing a key client, or completing a personal training program. This signature result creates crucial closure and builds powerful momentum, allowing you to enter January with confidence and a stronger professional identity, rather than confusion.
4. Guard Your Focus Hours Aggressively. December quietly erodes concentration through endless conversations, social scrolling, and minor distractions. Actively defend against this by carving out at least a two-hour block of deep, uninterrupted work each day. During this time, eliminate all notifications, social media, and multitasking. Communicate these boundaries clearly to family, friends, and colleagues. Two hours of intense focus can yield more than eight hours of scattered effort.
5. Build a Head Start for January. Avoid entering the new year tired, financially strained, and unfocused due to December mismanagement. Dr. Salami emphasizes that January success is built in December. Your discipline now directly creates your acceleration later. He points to structured growth opportunities like the Kickoff Summit on January 17th, 2026, as crucial for equipping oneself strategically rather than relying on guesswork.
The Bridge to Your Desired Future
Dr. Salami concludes with a compelling truth: distraction is a thief, but discipline is a weapon. Every focused hour in December is a seed planted for the coming year. Every completed task is a brick in your foundation. The boundary you enforce today is a victory for your future self. The fundamental question he poses is: What kind of January will you create by exercising December discipline? You are not merely closing a year; you are architecting your next level and preparing your unique advantage. In the end, focus is the essential bridge between your current position and the life you aspire to lead—don't let the December culture steal that bridge from you.
About Dr. Abiola Salami: He is the Convener of the Dr. Abiola Salami International Leadership Bootcamp, The Peak PerformerTM Festival, the Made4More Accelerator Program, and The New Year Kickoff Summit. He serves as the Principal Performance Strategist at CHAMP, a professional services firm providing Executive Coaching, Workforce Development, and Advisory Services to business leaders. He can be reached at his team's email and on social media platforms @abiolachamp.
