4 ms·

I'd love to stand while I work, but whenever I stand up in my office they assume I'm trying to escape. In all honesty, I'm not sure I could code as well standi

I'd love to stand while I work, but whenever I stand up in my office they assume I'm trying to escape. In all honesty, I'm not sure I could code as well standing up. When I'm in "the zone" I'm always sitting on the edge of my seat, typically right at the point where either I'll fall out or the chair will go flying backwards if I move too much. It's not a concious thing. I've always worked like that, and I can stay like that for hours. Standing might just be different enough to break the process. But the rest of the time? Sure, I'd love to work standing up. Sitting in a chair (inside) for eight, nine, ten hours a day drives me nuts.

kmfrk 15y ago
Standing up in from of the computer is a major paradigm change, and it's going to take people to do some active advocating. I know Marco(.org) often works standing up, and I think it'd be a great opportunity for bloggers to do some posts on their experiences.
- billswift 15y ago
  Just a sampling of the many comment threads talking about working standing up, or in one case walking on a treadmill: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=176704 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=176704 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1835634 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1835634 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2438140 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2438140 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=569574 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=569574
- jamesbritt 15y ago
  Standing up in from of the computer is a major paradigm change ... I've found that standing up and writing something on whiteboard engages my brain in different ways than typing it out at my laptop while sitting, or even drawing it out on a Wacom tablet while sitting. It's the problem I have with most computer music tools; the typical nerdy mouse/keyboard UI encourages the wrong kind of mental mode. Touch screens are somewhat better but still don't embrace a rich, physical, spatial environment.
  - cydonian_monk 15y ago
    The interface isn't completely here yet to support "standing computing." We need "air mice" rather like Minority Report (which Kinect gives, almost), and a new method of character input. I've considered adapting an 8-key braille keyboard to a glove (or something) using bluetooth for mobility's sake (and will probably build as much sometime this summer), but that isn't perfect either. I definitely agree that your brain works different while standing (or pacing). Most of the really difficult or complex stuff I solve while up on my feet, and then go back to edge-of-my-seat coding mode to get it out of my head.
DennisP 15y ago
About a month ago I put my monitor and keyboard on stacks of books, my mouse on a nearby shelf, and stood up for a week. The first day was torture. It was painful and weird. I didn't get much work done. After a couple days I got used to it. I felt great, had more energy, and was way more focused. I burned more calories than the calculator says, because whenever I wasn't typing I was in motion...stepping back and forth, side to side, often in time to the music in my headphones. My coworkers were highly amused. Whenever I had to wait for something, instead of getting distracted I just grooved on the music and danced around a bit while I waited, then jumped right back in. By evening, I felt like I'd been doing physical work all day. Unfortunately, an old knee injury started to really ache after a while. By the end of the week it was hurting quite a bit. So now I switch back and forth. I stand until my knee starts to ache a bit, then sit for a while. Staying in motion while standing seems to help. When I'm really getting into it I'll also tend to crouch a bit, on the balls of my feet, sort of the standing version of the way you sit. Other times I'll do shallow one-legged squats. I don't feel as good as that first week, but better than before. I get most of my work done while standing. I'm thinking I'll go get my knee looked at and see if that can be improved somehow.

kmfrk 15y ago

Standing up in from of the computer is a major paradigm change, and it's going to take people to do some active advocating. I know Marco(.org) often works standing up, and I think it'd be a great opportunity for bloggers to do some posts on their experiences.

billswift 15y ago
Just a sampling of the many comment threads talking about working standing up, or in one case walking on a treadmill: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=176704 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=176704 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1835634 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1835634 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2438140 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2438140 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=569574 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=569574
jamesbritt 15y ago
Standing up in from of the computer is a major paradigm change ... I've found that standing up and writing something on whiteboard engages my brain in different ways than typing it out at my laptop while sitting, or even drawing it out on a Wacom tablet while sitting. It's the problem I have with most computer music tools; the typical nerdy mouse/keyboard UI encourages the wrong kind of mental mode. Touch screens are somewhat better but still don't embrace a rich, physical, spatial environment.
- cydonian_monk 15y ago
  The interface isn't completely here yet to support "standing computing." We need "air mice" rather like Minority Report (which Kinect gives, almost), and a new method of character input. I've considered adapting an 8-key braille keyboard to a glove (or something) using bluetooth for mobility's sake (and will probably build as much sometime this summer), but that isn't perfect either. I definitely agree that your brain works different while standing (or pacing). Most of the really difficult or complex stuff I solve while up on my feet, and then go back to edge-of-my-seat coding mode to get it out of my head.

DennisP 15y ago

About a month ago I put my monitor and keyboard on stacks of books, my mouse on a nearby shelf, and stood up for a week. The first day was torture. It was painful and weird. I didn't get much work done. After a couple days I got used to it. I felt great, had more energy, and was way more focused. I burned more calories than the calculator says, because whenever I wasn't typing I was in motion...stepping back and forth, side to side, often in time to the music in my headphones. My coworkers were highly amused. Whenever I had to wait for something, instead of getting distracted I just grooved on the music and danced around a bit while I waited, then jumped right back in. By evening, I felt like I'd been doing physical work all day. Unfortunately, an old knee injury started to really ache after a while. By the end of the week it was hurting quite a bit. So now I switch back and forth. I stand until my knee starts to ache a bit, then sit for a while. Staying in motion while standing seems to help. When I'm really getting into it I'll also tend to crouch a bit, on the balls of my feet, sort of the standing version of the way you sit. Other times I'll do shallow one-legged squats. I don't feel as good as that first week, but better than before. I get most of my work done while standing. I'm thinking I'll go get my knee looked at and see if that can be improved somehow.