I’m a faithful reader of Lifehacker, and a great deal of their content tends to come from the perspective of the home office of the freelance worker or telecommuter. Most of the workspace photos are of home offices, and I frequently find myself drooling over the elegant and clean custom setups. Meanwhile, I work in a cubicle that can be only slightly modified, and I simply don’t have the budget to really do up my home work space for the contractor work I do at Blogcritics/Technorati.
That being said, I’ve been thinking off and on about trying to do a standing desk setup at home, just for a change of pace and to off-set the sedentary aspect of my daily work. But again, I keep running into the issue of cost for anything fancy, so I’ve been putting it off. However, last night I was particularly frustrated with the prospect of spending a few more hours sitting at my desk at home after a full day of doing the same at work, so I decided to improvise.
I used a plastic drawer bin that I use to store random office supplies (pens, pencils, staples, batteries, etc.) to elevate my monitor high enough, so that was simple. And, since the monitor can be tilted down (and isn’t too high) it’s easy to switch it back to something comfortable enough for sitting at.
The keyboard and mouse solution was a bit more complicated. I didn’t want anything permanent, since I knew I’d want to be able to switch back and forth between sitting and standing until I built up my standing stamina. In the end, I borrowed a bookshelf from one of my IKEA bookcases (stacked the DVDs that were on it — will probably pick up another shelf for long-term use out of the as-is area the next time I’m up there) and elevated it by resting it on top of my comic book short box. The box is just long enough to stabilize the longer bookshelf, but light enough (and with handles) to move it around as needed.
Satisfied with my handiwork, I set to clearing out my task list. However, after only a few minutes of standing, I began to realize just how little I stand on a day-to-day basis. So far, I’ve only been able to stand for 20-30 minutes at a time, and am generally uncomfortable the whole time. But, hey, if this means I’m exercising those muscles while still working at a computer, I consider it a win-win.
I’m fascinated by the treadmill desks too, not just the standing ones.
Maybe standing barefoot would help? I always feel less fatigued when shoeless.
I was standing barefoot. I had the same thought regarding shoes. What would really help is if I lost 50 lbs! 😉
I only have a laptop at home and the body often revolts at the endless hours of couch potato work. I have an office with a lovely desk. I’ll move back there occasionally, or sit at the dining room table or kitchen counter for a change of pace and to stretch the body. I’ve even been known to stand at the counter with the laptop while making dinner. I know… I am hopeless!! 🙂
Every once in a while I miss the desk I had at my old call center job. Since we worked long shifts, they gave us adjustable desks. All we had to do was push a lever to raise the keyboard and another for the monitor. I couldn’t stand for 20 minutes at a time, but it was nice to do it for two or three 10-minute periods throughout the shift.