Resignations happen. Handle them with grace and patience

When a great member of your team resigns, promptly notify your team, work with the departing employee to train others to take over their roles (on a part-time or consulting basis, if possible) and stay positive while addressing any concerns, writes Jason Evanish, the founder and CEO of Get Lighthouse, Inc. "Be willing to listen and use your 1 on 1s as an effective time to privately discuss all of this with each team member," Evanish recommends.

Put it into practice: When a low-performing team member calls it quits, you may want to isolate them or allow them to give a shorter notice to prevent them from disrupting the team on the way out, Evanish notes. "Take the high road no matter the circumstances. Even for weak employees, say little before you say anything critical."

Journaling can be a powerful tool in making important decisions, executive coach Elisabeth Hayes writes. By providing a space for self-reflection and more awareness, journaling brings clarity to thoughts and helps pinpoint patterns, Hayes notes.

Put it into practice: To get started with journaling, keep it simple, Hayes recommends. Next, make it a habit, write about your engagement and energy, and read past entries when you're ready.

Email etiquette -- which sometimes means not sending an email -- is crucial in a working environment filled with myriad communication channels, says Barbara Pachter, a business etiquette and communications trainer. Email is generally one of the safest choices, but ask yourself who your reader is and what the best way to communicate with them is -- and follow your workplace norms for interacting, Georgetown University professor Andrea Weckerle, author of "Civility in the Digital Age," says.

Put it into practice: Keep emails short and to the point with easy-to-read formatting that includes bullet points or subheadings, Kendra Losee, co-author of "Digital Etiquette for Dummies," says. Schedule emails to arrive at an appropriate time of day, and consider waiting to send it if it's a heady topic, Pachter says. Experts also advise proofreading, not sending repeated emails before getting a reply and keeping emojis to a minimum.

It's tempting to have a "never quit" attitude, but quitting may be the best option if a job or boss is draining your energy and your time and making you feel bored or like you're going through the motions, writes Jim VandeHei, a co-founder and CEO of Axios. "Here's the formula: Does a situation stir more negative energy than positive energy on a regular basis?" VandeHei writes.

Proponents of chiengora -- yarn spun not from wool but from dog hair -- say it is ultra-sustainable and softer than cashmere, and some are collecting dog hair from groomers to weave into fabrics. Undercoat from long-haired dogs works best, and studies have found chiengora is warmer than wool and hardier than camel hair.

Jim VandeHei's advice on quitting hit home with me. Last month, I retired from the spiritual community I founded nearly 14 years ago, and his list of reasons for leaving something behind was like a laundry list of my feelings: Life-sucking, energy-draining, time-sucking, brain-numbing and body-harming.

I was working seven days a week to make ends meet. Many leaders in spiritual communities especially are having similar experiences as many members fell out of the "Sunday-go-to-church" habit during COVID-19.

I realized, after much reflection, that my problem was simple: I tried to do it all myself. It wasn't a failure of the congregation but a leadership failure. I didn't ask for help or find others to delegate duties to. If I had it to do again, I would have allowed others to pitch in. People want to feel useful, and they want to help. They're just waiting for you to ask.

In that same vein, consider the motivation of those who may have recently quit your team. Did they have those feelings VandeHei describes? If so, you may have other team members following them out the door. Now is the time to find out what's exhausting your team and brainstorm ways to fix it.

In the meantime, if you're the one who has quit, find something life-giving to do after you leave. I've gone back to doing more music out in the world. I'm writing songs and spending more evenings at open mic events. It's been liberating.

Have you quit something that overwhelmed you? Tell me about it.

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