Great fantasy novels and films tap into something called “suspension of disbelief.” It means audiences put logic on hold and allow themselves to believe for a while that Klingons exist and animals can speak with human voices.

Sometimes we also use the device to convince ourselves of things we want to believe in the nonfiction world—for instance, that you can’t judge a book by its cover. The adage may be true in principle, but it doesn’t mean employers won’t make superficial judgments when evaluating prospective hires. And when you’re out of work or transitioning from school into a career, you probably don’t have the financial resources to spend a lot on your power wardrobe.

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Oooh, I just lost my temper. Some days that’s easy to do. I’ve been struggling with a pounding migraine, plus the accompanying nausea and sensitivity to light and sound, so my tolerance tank is running low.

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With so many out of work these days, employers can practically sketch their ideal employee and find someone to perfectly fit the image.

Not many would sketch Nic Schoonbeck.

A decade of drug abuse had left the 24-year-old with a felony arrest record and bedraggled appearance. But as Rhonda Abrams explains in her book Wear Clean Underwear: Business Wisdom from Mom, the owners of Zingerman’s deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan, prided themselves on looking beyond externals when interviewing prospective hires. So instead of being put off by Nic’s unkempt ponytail, torn t-shirt, and spotty résumé, they welcomed him aboard and assigned him sandwich duties.

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If you’re like most people, you jumped into 2011 resolved to rev up your career, rekindle important relationships, right wrongs … and of course, remake your appearance.

So three weeks into the new year, how are those resolutions working for you?

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It’s New Year’s Eve. You’re out with your spouse or sweetheart. What a perfect night for … an argument.

Hey, it happens. But if you get into a row because one of you seemed too flirtatious with another party-goer or someone gave the wrong answer to the all-important “Do I look fat in this?” resolve it before you get into the car. A survey by the British auto insurer MORE TH>N, blames “romantic road rage” for more than 2.5 million traffic accidents in Britain.

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Baby, it’s cold outside, and you need to save money on your heating bill. But hang on before you lower that thermostat too much.

A few years ago, researchers at Cornell University found that when employers lowered office temps from a toasty 77 degrees to a chilly 68 degrees, they also lowered worker productivity.

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It’s beginning to look a lot like … the post-holiday slump. Ugh. You’ll probably do some partying to ring in the new year, maybe watch a few football bowl games. And then it will be time to clean up the mess, throw out the leftover fruitcake, and beat the bathroom scales to dust with your kid’s new baseball bat.

For six weeks, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s keep Americans on one extended high of sugar and hustle-bustle. Then it’s back to reality … a little poorer, a little fatter, and a lot less motivated than we were before. No more whistling “Frosty, the Snowman.” No more candles in the window as we pull into the drive. No more pretending candy canes are calorie-free.

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‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring … except the parents trying to figure out where they’d store the new batch of toys Santa, the grandparents, and the rest of the relatives would be delivering for the children all snug in their beds.

Here’s one way to solve the dilemma and spread the Christmas spirit at the same time …

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You know who you are. You’re the one who must make your red velvet cake look like the professionally decorated masterpiece gracing the cover of Southern Living. You’re the one who must ensure each wrapped gift under the tree resembles a work of art. You’re the one who goes into the woods in search of the perfect tree, who bakes 4500 cookies to distribute to each year, who wakes the family at exactly 6:30 a.m. on Christmas morning.

You are the holiday perfectionist.

But it’s okay if your cake has more icing on one side than another, if your gifts have stick-on bows, if you pick up a tree at the supermarket, grab some cookies at the bakery while you’re there, and if your family sleeps in. You don’t have to be Martha Stewart to impress people during the holidays … as Martha Stewart discovered during her 2004 incarceration on a stock-trading case.

Small and homey

According to People magazine, while serving her five-month term at West Virginia’s Alderson Federal Prison, Stewart led a team of fellow inmates in the holiday decorating contest. The theme was “Peace on Earth,” and each team was given $25 worth of glitter, ribbons, construction paper, and glue. But only one had a secret weapon: America’s Queen of Domesticity, the woman who published magazines offering step-by-step instructions on how to decorate for the holidays.

Stewart’s display included paper cranes that hung from the prison ceiling. But when the prize was awarded, judges preferred a “small and homey” offering from the firefighting unit—a Nativity scene with pictures of snow-covered hills, sleds, and clouds.

Sometimes simple things are simply impressive … and far less time-consuming.

‘Tis the season for spending time with family and friends, for renewing acquaintances, for cookies and cocoa and Christmas stockings.

But for many people it’s a season to be reminded that you’ve lost loved ones with whom you once shared the holidays, another year has passed and your life isn’t where you’d hoped it would be, you’re unemployed or in debt and unable to shop with the abandon you’d like, or maybe you’re just lonely and depressed.

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