Yes. I have decided to respect my computer more, starting 1 Jan 2015. It does deserve more respect considering how I handled it before - looking down, looking up, on the lap, on the tummy etc., Starting this year, I shall stand before it, with renewed respect. In other words, I switched to a fully jugaad standing desk at work. I have read before about people that switched to a standing desk, and thought it could be fun to try it. It all started when I discovered (accidentally) that the desks at work are height adjustable. Though not to the extent of being able to stand and work, it opened up doors for jugaad and experimentation. So, here it is in its current configuration!
- The desk is worldclass, is height adjustable. However, when its design was conceived, the designer wouldn’t have imagined IT folks will be longing to stand at work.
- Two hollow wooden boxes adding about 10 inches height for both the legs.
- Do you see the black lever towards left of the desk? That is the one to adjust height, depending on how high I stand on a particular day (Read: The height of your shoes matters too!)
- The 300 INR plastic stool to prop up the display.
- The vertical mouse. To balance out the curved surface of the ergo keyboard so that when I switch between keyboard and mouse, my hand remains almost at the same height.
- A cut up gravolite yoga mat (you can see it rolled up and kept in the hollow wooden box). When I want to work barefoot, I use it as padding under my feet.
- And of course, the more or less unused chair.
So, How am I feeling!?#
- gReAT : If you can imagine that small letters indicate a so-so experience, and caps to indicate a good experience, this is precisely what I felt, gReAT - in that temporal order.
- First couple of days: so-so. Your feet hurts, ankles hurt, thigh hurts and in general the body hurts. It has to, since it is being rudely forced out of what it knows best to do for the past 10 years (sit on a chair and forget about the lower limb). But in a few days, you get used to it.
- Then it feels good: It starts feeling good as the week progresses. I felt a general body ache, the good kind, like the initial days of your gym workout. It feels great.
- Then the weekend comes. And the next working day - not so good.
- I had to struggle to keep my focus on work in the initial few days.
- After about 7-8 days, you stop noticing the fact that you are standing at work. And most likely, the muscles have adapted too.
- ERGONOMICS MATTER
- Switching to a standing desk has made me realize the importance of ergonomics. Even a slight deviation from the neutral position of your head, wrists, back causes noticeable muscle tension and pain.
- The top of your display should be at the same height (or may be an inch taller) as your head when you are standing
- The keyboard and mouse should be at the height of your elbows, so that your hands can operate them bending 90 degrees at the elbow joing
- Stand straight. So that your spine is in its neutral position (it’s natural S shape)
- Though all the above are true when you sit at the desk, I never felt the need to make required arrangements. My head was probably looking down at the display. My hands were raised above the elbow height. I never sat in the straight position!
- GAINS
- Stronger legs and back. Awareness of your lower limb
- Most likely a correct posture while working
- You will see the approaching somebody much earlier, so that you can make required adjustments
- You certainly are burning more calories compared to sitting.
- You will most likely develop liking towards meetings - perhaps your only chance to sit during the day.
- You can have more people in your cube for a brainstorming or debugging session. Since everybody is standing, there is no unnecessary space required for chairs.
- QUIRKS
- Be careful with what you eat. You can no longer muffle those farts like you would while you are on a chair! :)
- Yes, your display will be visible to the entire floor. So, don’t do stupid things.
- I became extremely sensitive to non-neutral positions. Like, when I just want to sit on a couch with laptop for some light work, I start noticing that my hands/head/back is stressed. Had to change my work setup at home too!
A word of caution though! Apparently too much standing is not good either. It can cause clots in your veins (people cite examples of barbers who will stand throughout the day). But hey, how good is sitting throughout the day anyway!?
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