There is so much hype around standing desks. A lot of people, such as Apple CEO Tim Cook, is saying that sitting is the new cancer. So when I hear enough hype around something I like to try it to see what the fuss (if any) is about.
When I first heard about standing instead of sitting, I laughed. Why would I want to do that when sitting is exactly what you want to do when you’ve been standing for too long? I put standing desks in the same category as being vegan, soy chai lattes and growing a beard. It’s trendy but a bit of a wank.
Our office has started to receive more and more standing desks lately. When you look down the open plan office you can see a few more people standing each week, like sprouting mushrooms in the yard after a lot of rain. After conversations with them I kept being told that it has done wonders for them physically, mentally and that they’re also more productive.
I am a big believer in saving the one thing no one can generate more of, time. ANYTHING that makes me more productive and time efficient will grab my attention, now I really wanted one.
Since I already had a fixed desk in the office I needed a retro-fitted standing desk. Google around and boom, found one made by Varidesk. They have a few variations so I bought the biggest one I could, the Pro Plus 48 and a matt, because apparently they’re good.
It all turned up and let me just say, it is a big kit. Fully assembled already so it took me a minute to plonk on the desk, add things on top and away I stood. During this process I removed my desk phone. I set it to call forward always to my mobile and unplugged it, less clutter.
The desk rises and lowers really simply. A couple of handles in the Varidesk allow you to lift a lot of weight with ease. It is fairly stable however it did take me a while to trust so much stuff on the desk at full height. I had two monitors, a laptop with dock, keyboard and mouse. No problem.
Now to how it is to use…
The matt is exactly what everyone needs, no hype around that – buy it if you’re buying a standing desk. Some will opt to take their shoes off when they’re standing but since I like to remain civil in the office I kept them on. This was also a problem as before long you start to feel the skin of your feet bleeding through the soles of your shoes (not literally, but they hurt) even with the matt. I went and bought some gel filled soles from Scholl and that problem has gone away. The other minor issue you’ll face physically is your lower back muscles, they feel the stress. This is because you haven’t used them much in a long time!
The benefits for me in using the standing desk has been many:
So, am I converted? Yes. Have I switched to soy chai lattes and started protesting the sheering of sheep? No.
You can be cool, manly AND have a standing desk. But more importantly, it has helped me be more productive and more active in my day – and that is what had me hooked.
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