For a few months now I've been considering the idea of standing up while working. I first started seriously thinking about it after reading Jamis Buck's article from 37signals about the idea back in April. This past weekend, I saw an ABC news special on offices that are implementing stand-up and even treadmill desks. I decided it was time for me to go for it.
I figure it's smart to try things out a bit before making any dramatic changes to the office furniture. So, I started hunting around up here to find something that could serve to elevate my montiors, keyboard and mouse temporarily so I could give it a shot. I landed on what I call the iDesk (pictured to the right).
The iDesk makes use of an unusually sturdy iMac box topped by a few leftover wood paneled shelves. The wood keeps the monitors super sturdy and using a few extra shelves under the keyboard and mouse helps to get them up to proper level for my height. The nice thing about the iDesk is that it is compatible with Mac or PC workstations, though it is built atop an Apple framework.
I'm only half a day into the trial, but so far I like it. I was just getting so tired of sitting in my chair all day. My job here doesn't require me to stand up and move around much so, by default, I just end up at my desk for hours at a time unless I make myself get up and walk around a bit. Now, with the iDesk, instead of taking breaks to get up and move around, I can take breaks to sit down. Seems to me to be a better situation, but we'll see how I feel after a few weeks of standing.
I really can see the advantage of the treadmill desks featured on the ABC special. Keeping your feet moving at a 1-2 mph pace would help to avoid the aching you get from standing completely still. But the iDesk does not offer a treadmill option and the treadmill desks I've seen can be quite expensive, so this will have to do for now.
Posted on
Mon, August 4, 2008
by Tim Wall