It’s the dog days of summer. Half the office is gone. It’s been weeks since you’ve bothered staying at your desk past 5.

So why don’t you feel more relaxed?

In our always-on and electronically connected age, it seems we actually have to really unplug in order to recharge. So, inspired by the ethos of this week’s National Relaxation Day, let’s look at some popular strategies to help you shake off the office, whether you have a week off, or just 10 minutes:

Explore mindfulness. The mindfulness meditation boom underway in Western culture counts many Type A personalities among its converts. Mindfulness essentially means “paying attention”—being consciously present in the here and now. Mindfulness meditation deliberately creates mental space between being and thinking, and between your thoughts and your reactions to those thoughts. Known benefits include greater control of one’s emotions and an ability to sustain focus, but mindfulness meditation also offers an always-available-anywhere way to reboot your mental state.

Take up a hobby. Some people need something to do to let go of work mentally. Hobbies have been shown to reduce stress, help people structure time more effectively and encourage social connections. Classic pastimes like gardening, baking and even knitting have enjoyed a recent resurgence, affording practitioners a chance to focus on a goal away from their computer screens.

Work out. Physical activity can also hit the reset button. An intense yoga practice will not just increase blood flow, boost immunity and lower blood pressure, it will shut down any chatter in your brain. Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson turns to Brazilian jiu-jitsu for that type of effect. “When someone’s trying to take your head off, you pretty much can only think about that. So that helps you switch off.”

Curl up with a book. Yes, an actual hard-copy book that offers the old school tactile pleasures of physical page-turning. Some studies suggest reading is better than a walk, music or a cup of tea for relaxing because being swept into a literary world is the ultimate distraction. It’s surely no accident that print books, left for dead not long ago, have experienced a recent resurgence.

Wing it. Take time on your next vacation, or even just a day off, to go without a plan. Try not to worry about hitting every historic site on your checklist, for example. Wander, sit in the park and just take in the scenery. Ultimately, adopting a Buddha-inspired mindset of actually caring less about our daily office toils may imbue our lives with greater meaning.

Whichever approach suits you, don’t neglect your R&R. As author Anna Quindlen once remarked in a college commencement speech, “Nobody on their deathbed has ever said, ‘I wish I had spent more time at the office.’” And that goes double for answering work emails on your iPhone.