We often think about what we can add to our lives to be healthier—fruits, vegetables, dairy, vitamins, water and even exercise. But improving health doesn’t just have to come from consuming—sometimes it’s the things we eliminate (like stress) that can have the biggest impact on our health.

In an office or in your track pants at home, here are five ways to reduce stress while at work:

1. Relaxation Response Technique : If you can spare just 10 minutes of silence and sitting still during your lunch break, this is the technique for you. Select a word or a phrase you like. It could even be the word “peace” or “calm” or the sound “om” often used in yoga. Repeat it slowly and quietly, focusing on the word and trying to ignore any intruding thoughts or worries. If done properly, this method helps bring you into a meditative and relaxation state.
2. Reduce your email use: Sound crazy? It can be both distracting and backlogging to constantly check and respond to email. Try and limit email checks to about three times per day for 10 minutes each time, for example. This will help free up your time and reduce the stressful feeling of always needing to be “available”.
3. Do one thing at a time: Although almost every job posting will tell you that, “multitasking is an asset” it does little for controlling your stress levels. Taking on one task at a time, as often as possible, is best for helping you feel in control and less overwhelmed.
4. De-clutter: Doing a regular purge of old emails, voice mails, paperwork and even clearing out the empty coffee cups on your desk (guilty!) can go a long way in helping you feel less stressed. Clutter can be a breeding ground for stress.
5. Do something slowly: Although I wasn’t able to find research on this one, I do use a trick that I’d like to share for squashing stress: do something slowly. Whether it’s sipping a hot cup of tea, breathing slowly or walking slowly, heck, even talking slowly, doing it methodically helps me re-centre me and distract me from stress.