Metaflex

Donald H. Rumsfeld works at the stand-up desk in his office (pic from Wikipedia)

I had heard about the standing and sit-standing desks that are available, but I had not bothered much about them until after I read about the health risks of sitting for prolonged periods. After reading that well written opinion piece I decided that walking up and down 10 floors of stairs wasn’t enough – especially since I would soon be moving into my home office and won’t have 10 floors to climb.

Right now I spend a day at my job sitting in front of an underpowered computer with a tiny screen. I then typically go home to my decent home setup and spend anywhere from 3 to 5 hours working or playing. This is all going to change soon and I suspect that my home office will get used about 12 to 16 hours a day once I move there full-time. So, armed with the knowledge that I could face serious health problems directly associated with my career choice I have set out to stand at my home desk – with the option of sitting somewhere if I so desire.

I’m not about to spend a lot of money on a sit-stand desk. Not when a few boxes of the right size will do the job just as well. I measured things carefully using the data from this ergonomics calculator and I worked out that I needed to move my keyboard and mouse up by 30cm. I also prefer having my monitor a little lower so it also moved up by 30cm. Fortunately I had a few sturdy boxes that were up to the task.

I’ve been using this setup for 3 nights so far and my feet are not getting as sore as they got on the first night. I don’t have any back pain from standing for prolonged periods either. The first night standing was a little strange, but I am getting used to the idea of not needing a chair. I also do feel that it is easier for me to concentrate when I need to. So if working standing up means better health and better focus then this is something I am going to stick with for the long term.

Find out more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_desk