About a Boy is the movie you need to get through hard times. Listen to Hugh Grant explain what’s what:

The important thing in island living is to be your own activities director. I find the key is to think of a day as units of time…each unit consisting of no more than 30 minutes. Full hours can be a little bit intimidating…and most activities take about half an hour. Taking a bath: One unit…Web-based research: Two units. Exercising: Three units. Having my hair carefully disheveled: Four units. It’s amazing how the day fills up.

So while we are all coping with February, take the wisdom of Hugh to heart. Schedule your day and, here’s the bonus assistance from moi, put in scents. If you are busy, just get a Guerlain Aqua Allegoria – if you need a pick-me-up, get No.42 The Flower Shop (from Jo Loves) and if you in the middle of any event that requires a lawyer, a box of Kleenex, early-morning rising or late-night studying, then get Sana Jardin’s Tiger by Her Side.

Yes, I do know this is ridiculous but late winter, with no hint of spring coming, is a hard time of year. You need to get out of bed and make widgets for some reason that you can’t remember right now so embrace the wretchedness, go all in on a certain kind of crazy. Remember there are only one rule: make it through without harming others. Anything that does not frighten or defenestrate others is in play.

Pick your wake-up scent (peppermint fizz shower bomb? passion fruit body wash? verbena face foam?) so that as you lie there, unwilling to face the day, you can say to yourself, “oh, but my grapefruit shower gel is waiting for me.”

Then put on a day perfume: Knowing by Estee Lauder, Chanel’s Chance, L’Occitane’s Terre de Lumière or Dior’s Joy are good or go for something sweeter/ brighter like Phlur’s Tangerine Boy  or Marc Jacobs’ Perfect. If it is all getting a bit too much for you, try aromatherapy mixes like Chill Pill by Aura Cacia.

Then work. Sigh. After a few hours of spreadsheet whateverness, give yourself a pick-me-up: Bath and Body Diamond Shimmer? Fresh’s face spritz? New Moon Beginnings’ Positive Energy Mist? Aveda Chakra pure-fume mist? Kiehl’s Cactus Flower and Ginseng Hydrating Mist?

When it’s time to stop work, take a mini-tropical vacation: something coconut-lime-mango. This is not the time to argue that spider lilies, hibiscus, bougainvillea and oleander don’t actually have a scent. Go for the pineapple-kiwi or anything that says ‘beach’. Put on Hawaiian Tropic even if you are not going outdoors; try Key West Aloe, Hawaiian Classic Perfumes, Bonnie Bell or Escada.

As you get ready for bed – of course lavender and chamomile (I detest chamomile, Darling, but I would not deny it to those in need), but there are plenty of other calming choices: apricot, lilac, freesia, orange blossom, peony and cypress. (No, Darling, I cannot fathom the craze for smelling like ‘linen’ or freshly washed clothes’… why would anyone want to smell like laundry? But if it works for you, you have my blessing.)

And don’t simply think about your marvelous self. Get scents going wall to wall: lemon mint dish soap, cocoa-butter hand lotion, jasmine kitchen cleaner, rose face cream, honey-tangerine cuticle oil, anything Nuxe.

If you have allergies, try growing herbs near a window for positive scents without any chemicals.

Yes to motivational music (gospel choirs!); yes to full spectrum light bulbs; yes to dishes, bedsheets, towels and throw rugs in colors you love; and yes to getting through as best you can!

The Importance of Doing Things Badly

Perfume, Fairy Tales and Survival: Why Smelling Good Means Behaving Well and Decimating Enemies

The Subtle Art of Sitting on Your Friend’s Sofa and Watching Them Work