Standing Desks

I suggest trying a temporary version first. There are a number of affordable options for when/if you want something permanent, and really wonderful adjustable height desks for more.

People have used lifts or hutch type options on regular desks, or short book cases, or removing and relocating shelves in a tall bookcase.

I find a mat is important for you feet. Also, remember to move around.

A friend of mine used to edit her clients' manuscripts while on the treadmill at the gym. She said that once she got used to it, it worked fine: but she could not speed up above a brisk walk, because then she couldn't read quickly enough for it to work.

She is such a multi-tasker.

Old Hack said:

A friend of mine used to edit her clients' manuscripts while on the treadmill at the gym. She said that once she got used to it, it worked fine: but she could not speed up above a brisk walk, because then she couldn't read quickly enough for it to work.

She is such a multi-tasker.

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The armrests at the gym are at such a perfect angle for my arms that, if I could split a keyboard in half and stick the left half on the left armrest and the right half on the right armrest, and then plug my iPad into them, I could get a lot of writing done. Alas, no luck.

You can get treadmill desks, I'm sure.

Also, I just read this about the perils of sitting for too long. Gulp.

You can get a sort of raised platform to put on an existing desk for not very much--which is cheaper than getting a full standing desk and a way to try it out. I am contemplating getting an office treadmill next payday.

Lots and lots of my fellow technical writers use standing desks with treadmills.

Most of them built them themselves by modifying desks and treadmills.

I "put my desk up on blocks" about two years ago.
(Really, that's how I did it. At first it was a cheap test drive, but it worked so I kept it that way.)
BIG +1 on the pad beneath your feet.

Furniture from Hell. I suspect that agencies and companies are getting into this to save money on chairs.

caw

blacbird said:

Furniture from Hell. I suspect that agencies and companies are getting into this to save money on chairs.

caw

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Better get used to it - the company I work for makes the complete desk as well as just the mechanics for them, and our orders are going through the roof...

shadowwalker said:

Better get used to it - the company I work for makes the complete desk as well as just the mechanics for them, and our orders are going through the roof...

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Good news is, I work for myself. The boss ain't about to purchase one of these contraptions. I have a 50-year-old wooden desk, solid as the Pyramid of Gizeh, on which sits a 120-pound microscope and an 8-year-old computer, both of which work just fine, and that's my office. i want to stand, I go outside.

caw

Old Hack said:

You can get treadmill desks, I'm sure.

Also, I just read this about the perils of sitting for too long. Gulp.

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I never sit still. Even when I'm sitting in my chair, some part of me is twitching or wriggling. I've been known to wear a hole in the carpet. It's like pacing back and forth but on a small scale. (Tho I pace for real when on the phone.) It's an expression of physical boredom.

There's always been the assumption that "sit up straight" is best posture, but it had never been studied. When someone finally did an engineering study on "your joints and spine vs your chair" turns out that the venerable student slouch, leaned back and feet up, is the soundest posture for your health -- fewest stresses on the skeleton and connective tissue, and least compression of the internal organs.

I have a rattan chair that's butt-ugly, falling apart, and a dreadful floor-hog, and because it's an empty half-circle, has to be filled with pillows and orphaned couch cushions to turn it into a usable chair, then tied together with rope. The net result is close to the floor and tilted back a bit, and looks like a trashpile. But it's been my computer chair for 15 years because I can sit comfortably in it all day long. I've tried and tried to replace the wretched thing and can't find anything else close to it for day-to-day usability. A lot of this is not only that I lean back a bit, but also that my knees are slightly above my pelvis, so there's no leverage on the knee (which also affects hips and lower back) and no pressure on the backs of the thighs (which tends to impact circulation).

If I had to use a standing desk, I'd be crippled for life after one day of it. I can sit or walk, but standing still stresses my back. Your bones may vary.

blacbird said:

Furniture from Hell. I suspect that agencies and companies are getting into this to save money on chairs.

caw

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Um, I am buying one for myself--the company has already bought me a chair. They are not about to drop any money on my specialist health freak needs.

No. Just no. If sitting gets old fast, then standing gets old faster than the speed of light. I'll do my standing and walking after I do my writing, not during.

Well, you're not supposed to sit at your desk all day anyway. That's what breaks are for. Many recommend getting up every half hour.

I'm not sure what the difference is if I'm writing hunched over standing or hunched over while sitting. Seems I'm still hunched over.

I don't type during my standing time, I an upright reading my reference material, watching a webinar or something like that.

I walk during my breaks. Even five minutes of walking is highly beneficial. Too much stationary standing is almost as hard on the body as too much sitting. Harder on some body parts.

True. I also go out and walk and during the winter use a treadmill. IMHO the human body is meant to make a lot of postural changes and carry out diverse activities to keep in working order. If I could get head office to go for it I'd install a hammock and a massaging chair too.

veinglory said:

. If I could get head office to go for it I'd install a hammock and a massaging chair too.

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Now that sounds like a great idea.

Another option: hang upside down and use the floor as a desk.

I found a dresser in my house that's at just the right height for stand-up typing.

I was really excited when I found it (all the furniture in my home office is built-in, so adjustments are hard) but I don't actually use it much. Sometimes if I'm stuck writing in my office I'll go and write on the dresser, and it helps a bit. But mostly - sitting down is comfy! I'm sticking with it.

you can attach two brackets to the wall, and drop a board on top. Cheap and easy.
I write my first draft at my pc, then edit the entire thing on a tablet, so I pace around the house and garden the whole day.
On a related note, I have also taken to listening to my text with a text to speech program, which has worked wonders for my eyestrain.

I know somebody who attached a shelf to a treadmill so he can work on his laptop while walking.

I've buckled. I'm ordering a varidesk today (and I'll get the mat too - thanks for that tip). I don't sit properly at my desk and I'm doing all sorts of bad to my shoulder and neck. Had to have physio again - second time this year! - which for someone as fundamentally lazy as I am is inexcusable.

I actually get a build up of lactic acid in my back just from sitting badly which I suspect means that I sit badly to an athletic - possibly Olympian - degree.

I'm going to give standing badly a chance. Hurt some other muscles for a change.

ave said:

you can attach two brackets to the wall, and drop a board on top. Cheap and easy.
I write my first draft at my pc, then edit the entire thing on a tablet, so I pace around the house and garden the whole day.
On a related note, I have also taken to listening to my text with a text to speech program, which has worked wonders for my eyestrain.

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Fantastic ideas! I will have to try walking with the tablet immediately!