5 ms·

Make Yourself a Standing Desk This Weekend

18 points by iProject 14y ago

skrebbel 14y ago
I believe in full-time standing just as little as I believe in full-time sitting. I want a desk that I can move up and down, with everything on it, in less than a minute. Doesn't that exist? I haven't been able to find one yet.
- cypherpunks01 14y ago
  There are sitting/standing desks that are quickly adjustable via electric motor, but they're quite overpriced so it's best to let your employer buy one for you. My officemate has one very similar to the one here: http://www.thehumansolution.com/uplift-hover-adjustable-height-desk-447.html http://www.thehumansolution.com/uplift-hover-adjustable-heig...
- dshankar 14y ago
  Try the Geekdesk [http://www.geekdesk.com/ http://www.geekdesk.com/]
  - jsnrkd 14y ago
    I got a Geekdesk and put my own top on it from Ikea. It works perfectly for me. http://jsndev.net/104/geekdesk-and-ikea-standing-desk/ http://jsndev.net/104/geekdesk-and-ikea-standing-desk/
    - skrebbel 14y ago
      Very cool! Pricy, still, but cool. Thanks for the tip!
- elviejo 14y ago
  Or the cheapest version buy a fixed standing desk, and when you want to sit use a stool, or a very tall chair.
  - Jach 14y ago
    Alternatively, put a chair (even your own chair!) on your current desk and your stuff on the chair when you want to stand.
- ed209 14y ago
  I bought myself one off ebay for a couple of hundred pounds, has a little up/down controller which takes no more than a few seconds. I sit more than I stand, but it's a nice break. Not sure how I'd feel about this in a office though! http://cl.ly/image/2x0R2H2q330B http://cl.ly/image/2x0R2H2q330B
tzs 14y ago
But first read this and decide if the health risks are worth it: http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/CUESitStand.html http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/CUESitStand.html
- lazydon 14y ago
  Thanks for this. "every 20-30 minutes take a posture break and move for a couple of minutes" mentioned in the bottom-line goes well with pomodoro. So, you get double the benefit - relaxed body and mind. Standing desk do look appealing, probably they are the other extreme. But I feel I always put my laptop on book rack when I'm feeling a certain anxiety. It shouldn't be that harmful if you don't keep standing for longer duration. Sometimes, when too much engrossed in work, one my fail to listen to subtle voices of the body.
  - Tichy 14y ago
    Could this be a reason for the observed health benefits of coffee? If you need a shot every 30 minutes, it makes you move in just the right intervals.
    - cbr 14y ago
      Most coffee drinkers don't get coffee anywhere near that often.
- andrewfelix 14y ago
  Also try it first! I tried it for 3 weeks. First week hurt like buggery, 2nd week felt great, 3rd week I really started to ache in my legs bad. It really takes it out of you. I'm now looking for a solution that allows me to alternate regularly between standing and sitting.
  - brudgers 14y ago
    It took me about three months to really adapt to a standing workspace. What I found interesting during the adaptation period was that when I needed a break, I would walk away from the desk and sit down, and that it was easier to continue to be productive during these breaks than it had been when my workspace was seated.
Fando 14y ago
Make yourself a standing desk step 1: get a taller desk step 2: stand in front of it.
fauigerzigerk 14y ago
I think there is a much simpler solution. Just stand up and walk around while you think!
matthewking 14y ago
A couple of years ago I spent a weekend making this: http://imgur.com/a/Kp35g http://imgur.com/a/Kp35g I don't claim to be brilliant with carpentry so it was a mixed success, but you can adjust between a sit down and stand up desk, it cost about £50 all in. I'm not sure it would work on a larger scale, I had a very small room and just needed something to put my laptop on. Apologies for the photo quality, first generation iPhone.
alpine 14y ago
There's one thing I don't think I've seen mentioned when this subject is brought up. If you walked into an office comprising 100% standing desks, would the environment seem a tad more unfriendly than others? Would it be intimidating enough to discourage people from dropping in for a friendly chat? It would be interesting to measure productivity pre- and post- the introduction.
- cynusx 14y ago
  It's more friendly as a visitor coming in is already standing and so is whoever greets him when he comes in.
iuguy 14y ago
I started looking into standing desks a few weeks ago, but not having one have recently started using my ironing board. It's not an ideal height for me, but it's pretty good. My goals are to use the ironing board 3 days a week, sitting the other two and alternate between over the working week. When I'm standing I make sure I have two sit down breaks of 5-15 minutes (at least 5-10 minutes in the morning around 11am and 15 minutes around 3pm). This means that the longest I stand continuously is about 2 hours. When I'm sitting I take a 5 minute break every hour and a 15 minute break in the afternoon. I also try to do some Yoga 3 times a week which is working with mixed results at the moment. The main thing I've noticed is that while normally I get fairly sleepy between 2 and 4pm and my productivity tends to drop, when I'm standing my productivity is fine and I don't get tired in the afternoon. I've also noticed my posture has improved as I'm no longer hunched over a keyboard all the time, and I no longer slouch. The other thing I've noticed when standing is that I'm much likely to go and refill my water during the day just to get away from the screen for a minute or two when I need to. Sitting down I'll forget I have water (or at least run out) and it'll be another hour or two before I get some. I'm not quite sure why this is the case.
dugmartin 14y ago
I tried it for three days by simply taking a rigid plastic utility table with the legs still folded up and putting it on a couple of milk crates that I put on my desk. I then used bungee cords to tie the folding table through the crates to my desk. It was nice and stable and allowed me to put all 3 of my 24" monitors on it. I'm glad I spent no money on it because after 3 days my feet and back were killing me. I tried barefoot, with running shoes and even with an anti-fatigue mat that was in the basement workshop when I bought my house.
- ZoFreX 14y ago
  I don't understand why you (or anyone) would give up so quickly. Would you try to run a marathon on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and then conclude it's too painful and give up?
- rogerbinns 14y ago
  Note that you can buy drafting chairs which can be the right height for standing desks. Then you can alternate between standing and sitting. http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=1069142 http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=1069142
rogerbinns 14y ago
Any idea which Ikea parts the section "The Wide, Height-Adjustable Standing Desk" is referring to? "Vika" seems to be right. I did find a leg ("VIKA BYSKE") which is a suitable height for me (just below my belly button at 107cm - most others are 70cm high which is way too low). But it would be $120 for four legs, they don't sell them in my local store or online, and in any event the desk has to be wall mounted. The Frederik is almost a decent height for the desk, but then has two shelfs above positioned in the middle of the desk slap bang where my monitors would be. It is also just barely wide enough for my dual monitors.

18 points by iProject 14y ago

I believe in full-time standing just as little as I believe in full-time sitting. I want a desk that I can move up and down, with everything on it, in less than a minute. Doesn't that exist? I haven't been able to find one yet.

cypherpunks01 14y ago
There are sitting/standing desks that are quickly adjustable via electric motor, but they're quite overpriced so it's best to let your employer buy one for you. My officemate has one very similar to the one here: http://www.thehumansolution.com/uplift-hover-adjustable-height-desk-447.html http://www.thehumansolution.com/uplift-hover-adjustable-heig...
dshankar 14y ago
Try the Geekdesk [http://www.geekdesk.com/ http://www.geekdesk.com/]
- jsnrkd 14y ago
  I got a Geekdesk and put my own top on it from Ikea. It works perfectly for me. http://jsndev.net/104/geekdesk-and-ikea-standing-desk/ http://jsndev.net/104/geekdesk-and-ikea-standing-desk/
  - skrebbel 14y ago
    Very cool! Pricy, still, but cool. Thanks for the tip!
elviejo 14y ago
Or the cheapest version buy a fixed standing desk, and when you want to sit use a stool, or a very tall chair.
- Jach 14y ago
  Alternatively, put a chair (even your own chair!) on your current desk and your stuff on the chair when you want to stand.
ed209 14y ago
I bought myself one off ebay for a couple of hundred pounds, has a little up/down controller which takes no more than a few seconds. I sit more than I stand, but it's a nice break. Not sure how I'd feel about this in a office though! http://cl.ly/image/2x0R2H2q330B http://cl.ly/image/2x0R2H2q330B

tzs 14y ago

But first read this and decide if the health risks are worth it: http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/CUESitStand.html http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/CUESitStand.html

lazydon 14y ago
Thanks for this. "every 20-30 minutes take a posture break and move for a couple of minutes" mentioned in the bottom-line goes well with pomodoro. So, you get double the benefit - relaxed body and mind. Standing desk do look appealing, probably they are the other extreme. But I feel I always put my laptop on book rack when I'm feeling a certain anxiety. It shouldn't be that harmful if you don't keep standing for longer duration. Sometimes, when too much engrossed in work, one my fail to listen to subtle voices of the body.
- Tichy 14y ago
  Could this be a reason for the observed health benefits of coffee? If you need a shot every 30 minutes, it makes you move in just the right intervals.
  - cbr 14y ago
    Most coffee drinkers don't get coffee anywhere near that often.
andrewfelix 14y ago
Also try it first! I tried it for 3 weeks. First week hurt like buggery, 2nd week felt great, 3rd week I really started to ache in my legs bad. It really takes it out of you. I'm now looking for a solution that allows me to alternate regularly between standing and sitting.
- brudgers 14y ago
  It took me about three months to really adapt to a standing workspace. What I found interesting during the adaptation period was that when I needed a break, I would walk away from the desk and sit down, and that it was easier to continue to be productive during these breaks than it had been when my workspace was seated.

Fando 14y ago

Make yourself a standing desk step 1: get a taller desk step 2: stand in front of it.

fauigerzigerk 14y ago

I think there is a much simpler solution. Just stand up and walk around while you think!

matthewking 14y ago

A couple of years ago I spent a weekend making this: http://imgur.com/a/Kp35g http://imgur.com/a/Kp35g I don't claim to be brilliant with carpentry so it was a mixed success, but you can adjust between a sit down and stand up desk, it cost about £50 all in. I'm not sure it would work on a larger scale, I had a very small room and just needed something to put my laptop on. Apologies for the photo quality, first generation iPhone.

alpine 14y ago

There's one thing I don't think I've seen mentioned when this subject is brought up. If you walked into an office comprising 100% standing desks, would the environment seem a tad more unfriendly than others? Would it be intimidating enough to discourage people from dropping in for a friendly chat? It would be interesting to measure productivity pre- and post- the introduction.

cynusx 14y ago
It's more friendly as a visitor coming in is already standing and so is whoever greets him when he comes in.

iuguy 14y ago

I started looking into standing desks a few weeks ago, but not having one have recently started using my ironing board. It's not an ideal height for me, but it's pretty good. My goals are to use the ironing board 3 days a week, sitting the other two and alternate between over the working week. When I'm standing I make sure I have two sit down breaks of 5-15 minutes (at least 5-10 minutes in the morning around 11am and 15 minutes around 3pm). This means that the longest I stand continuously is about 2 hours. When I'm sitting I take a 5 minute break every hour and a 15 minute break in the afternoon. I also try to do some Yoga 3 times a week which is working with mixed results at the moment. The main thing I've noticed is that while normally I get fairly sleepy between 2 and 4pm and my productivity tends to drop, when I'm standing my productivity is fine and I don't get tired in the afternoon. I've also noticed my posture has improved as I'm no longer hunched over a keyboard all the time, and I no longer slouch. The other thing I've noticed when standing is that I'm much likely to go and refill my water during the day just to get away from the screen for a minute or two when I need to. Sitting down I'll forget I have water (or at least run out) and it'll be another hour or two before I get some. I'm not quite sure why this is the case.

dugmartin 14y ago

I tried it for three days by simply taking a rigid plastic utility table with the legs still folded up and putting it on a couple of milk crates that I put on my desk. I then used bungee cords to tie the folding table through the crates to my desk. It was nice and stable and allowed me to put all 3 of my 24" monitors on it. I'm glad I spent no money on it because after 3 days my feet and back were killing me. I tried barefoot, with running shoes and even with an anti-fatigue mat that was in the basement workshop when I bought my house.

ZoFreX 14y ago
I don't understand why you (or anyone) would give up so quickly. Would you try to run a marathon on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and then conclude it's too painful and give up?
rogerbinns 14y ago
Note that you can buy drafting chairs which can be the right height for standing desks. Then you can alternate between standing and sitting. http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=1069142 http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=1069142

rogerbinns 14y ago

Any idea which Ikea parts the section "The Wide, Height-Adjustable Standing Desk" is referring to? "Vika" seems to be right. I did find a leg ("VIKA BYSKE") which is a suitable height for me (just below my belly button at 107cm - most others are 70cm high which is way too low). But it would be $120 for four legs, they don't sell them in my local store or online, and in any event the desk has to be wall mounted. The Frederik is almost a decent height for the desk, but then has two shelfs above positioned in the middle of the desk slap bang where my monitors would be. It is also just barely wide enough for my dual monitors.