No matter what religion you believe or don't believe in, this time of year is stressful for even the well-organized bunch of people in the world. I am not one of those people. Between going extra shifts since school is out, to planning family get-togethers, to buying presents. I forget sometimes how much every once in a while I need to take a "me" day. You know, not have a list of things to do. Just do whatever comes to mind that I want to do, not what someone else instructs me to do or something I should check off my to-do list. I guess you could call it a hooky day. Trust me when I say, we all could use a hooky day once in a while, especially this month.

Christmas and Kwanzaa are a week away. We just passed Hanukkah. And don't even get me started on New Year's. This month is crazy. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that I have yet to finish my Christmas shopping. I know, I'm behind but I will get it done on time, don't you worry.

Even when I have a busy week of work and shopping to do, at the end of the day I try and make sure I do something for me. It might be as simple as taking a nice hot bath and lighting my favorite candles (apple cinnamon: they smell like Christmas). Or even painting my nails. I just painted them rainforest green and pumping iron silver, or at least that's what their labels read. Sometimes I just play my favorite playlist on Pandora: 2000s R&B. If you are old enough to know how fantastic that time of music was, you will add it as one of your playlists. I promise you, you will not be disappointed.

Whatever your vice is, do it. Even if it's for five minutes to an hour or two. Take the time you need to recharge and keep your sanity during this holiday season. We all know how stressful it is. For those of us who are college students trying to pay the small bills we have and still have enough money to spend on some kind of presents this year, it's hard. Sometimes we hustle so hard that our present to the family is being present for the family gathering.

There are some of us who don't have anything going on when school is out. No job, no responsibilities and you just spend each day thinking about what you want to do. With all that free time you can accomplish a lot of things. Don't forget to plan ahead. Think of things that you could do now that would benefit yourself in the future. Build up your resume with volunteer hours. Help your parents with whatever they need, and go above that. Take the craft or kickboxing class that you have been meaning to do but just can't think of the time to do it. Now is the time. Do it for yourself. If you can't find the time, make the time.

Your self-care is what will help you make it through all the hard times. A wise person once told me that some days we are going to have crappy days, and that's OK. Wallow in it for a bit if you want, but then you have to make a decision. Is what is making your day crappy something you need to accept and figure out how to live with it? Or is it something you need to get the heck away from and good riddance? Regardless, you need to take the small steps to get back to having your best days especially at this time of year.

What are some of your little steps that you take to make sure that you treat yourself this holiday season?