Stand-Up Desks

[Coffee]

I bought one of those cheapie computer desks from Office Depot, like this one:



I put the monitor on the top shelf, and then I have my wireless keyboard and mouse on top of a cardboard box from a Sony boombox, on the lower shelf (yeah, that's how we roll around here... Bogle-style).  Works pretty well. 

Eventually, I'll get off my duff (pun intended) and have a nice wood box made.  You know, to go with my $69 desk. 

I bought a stool, too.  Probably sit 2/3 of the time and stand the rest.  I like it.

- A.

[MachineGhost]

Sounds to me like clogs that chefs wear would be a good idea.  I plan on trying the stand-desk as my next health project soon.  I tried just standing up while watching TV and I was pooped out at the 2 hour mark.

My Standing Desk Experiment

http://blog.liangzan.net/blog/2012/09/2 ... xperiment/

[dualstow]

An argument against. From today.
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2013/07/25/a ... ding-desks
I don't have the desk, but I'm still pro standing.

[MediumTex]

An argument against. From today.
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2013/07/25/a ... ding-desks
I don't have the desk, but I'm still pro standing.

I settled into a mix of sitting and standing.

[MachineGhost]

I did the $22 IKEA stand up desk a few weels ago.  Unfortunately, after standing fo 2 hours, I realized I had no easy way to convert back to sitting down and vice versa.  So the concept is filed away for now.

As an "active couch potato", I do believe that the best balance would be standing for "work" and being a couch potato for "home".

[craigr]

So what's the final word on this? I'm thinking of going standing now and am looking at feedback.

[BP]

I have been considering the same thing for some time.  Just saw this:

http://lifehacker.com/why-i-killed-my-s ... 1565554537

Look at the other articles that appear in "boxes" in the article itself that have other viewpoints.

I was thinking of a blend between sitting and standing using something like:

http://www.varidesk.com/

[MachineGhost]

I have been considering the same thing for some time.  Just saw this:

http://lifehacker.com/why-i-killed-my-s ... 1565554537

That perfectly captures my experience with the experiment.  I think the moral of the lesson is that doing the logical opposite of what is healthy is not better, just exchanging one set of problems for another.  Bottom line: standing isn't exercise.  I bet those "sitting negates exercise" studies could easily be picked apart as flawed for all the usual reasons.

[Jan Van]

I've been using the Geekdesk a while ago (bought the frame-only version, and got an Ikea top). I love it. Usually I stand pretty much all day, and it feels pretty good to me. I do take "sitting-breaks" every now and then, for example when I have lunch, but those add up to maybe one hour.

[craigr]

I think I may go hybrid because I can't see myself wanting to stand all day. So probably a standing desk and a stool high enough that I can sit when I want or stand when I want. Thanks for the replies...

[Jan Van]

The Geekdesk goes up and down at the push of a button. Four buttons actually, so you can set preferences.

[edsanville]

I have an adjustable desk (manual hand-crank) from multitable.com.  If you're thinking of alternating between standing and sitting, I'd consider one of those.

[Mark Leavy]

I've used standup desks for over 30 years.

First drafting tables.  With a drafting stool to switch between standing and sitting.

Then cubicle desks modified to permanently stand up.
I found myself alternating between standing and squatting in my chair.

Then the motorized digital kind with the preset push buttons to set the height.
I really liked those.  I could stand 90% of the day and then effortlessly sit when it seemed like the thing to do.

So... having the ability to switch between stand and sit is the way to go.
The cheapest method would be a standing desk with a drafting chair.

The fastest/easiest method is a motorized desk.

But... If I were ever to own a home and buy a desk again, I would buy this one:
http://ohiodesign.com/product/adler-table/

I just love the design.  Simple.  Iron.  Wood.  A machinist's wheel.

Not likely to happen though.

Mostly what I do these days is set the chair on the desk and the notebook on the chair.  That is usually a workable height whenever I am in a hotel or rental.  The aesthetics suck, though.

[craigr]

But... If I were ever to own a home and buy a desk again, I would buy this one:
http://ohiodesign.com/product/adler-table/

That's an awesome looking desk!

I was eyeing a crank up desk myself. I can raise and lower as needed. I agree that's seems to be the best of both worlds.

[MachineGhost]

How is a crank up desk worht $1950?  Furniture is such a scam.

It better come luxuriously and laboriously handcrafted by an Amish old timer!  Like this:

[dualstow]

But... If I were ever to own a home and buy a desk again, I would buy this one:
http://ohiodesign.com/product/adler-table/

That's an awesome looking desk!

I was eyeing a crank up desk myself. I can raise and lower as needed. I agree that's seems to be the best of both worlds.

That link has changed a bit - http://work.ohiodesign.com/adler-desk.html
So has the look. It's a little less awesome now.

In any case, I'm looking at the Jarvis bamboo top desk now. Still good looking and far less expensive, with optional wire management grommets.

[dualstow]

In any case, I'm looking at the Jarvis bamboo top desk now. Still good looking and far less expensive, with optional wire management grommets.

Bought it, assembled it, screwed the options onto the underside, uprighted it. And I have to say, this desk is awesome. And beautiful. And the up-down thing works.

[WiseOne]

Sounds great dualstow!

I did something similar but went the DIY route. I got adjustable C-shaped table legs from here:

http://legsandbases.com/legs/adjustable_height

and attached them to an IKEA butcher block countertop. Result = awesome (manually) adjustable height desk. Not the height of fashion I will admit. It probably ended up costing the same as the one you got.

[dualstow]

Cool! Well, WiseOne, you can see the prices of the Jarvis at Ergo Depot dot com, (not to be confused with Ergot Depot, which is responsible for a lot of accusations of witchcraft). For years now, I've been using a $50 laundry table, which did the job as far as holding thing up goes, but I was hunched over like that figure in Greek mythology who wished for eternal life and forgot to wish for eternal youth. (He became the first cricket, according to the legend).

The cat is already adjusting.

[WiseOne]

You seem to be under the illusion that the desk is your property. You could not be more wrong! It's your cat's new favorite tree perch, and you bought it strictly for that reason.

Now if only my cats would let me at least have a corner of the desk for my laptop....

[dualstow]

WiseOne, I've given up using the mouse when the kitten is present.
The wireless trackpad which was mothballed for ages is really coming in handy.

[Maddy]

You seem to be under the illusion that the desk is your property. You could not be more wrong! It's your cat's new favorite tree perch, and you bought it strictly for that reason.

Now if only my cats would let me at least have a corner of the desk for my laptop....

There was a time (thinking back to the days of cozy-warm old-style computer monitors, which required a tail to be moved aside every 30 seconds in order to see the screen), that sharing the desktop would have seemed like a most reasonable compromise.

[dualstow]

Compromise- that word in this context always reminds me of this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/4 ... ompromise/

[WiseOne]

Now that's a good reason to have one of those old style CRT monsters! I don't miss all the dust they collected, but then the cats would take care of that. They're like little automatic dust mops. Of course, the dust bunnies have now been replaced with clumps of fur.

DS, that Jarvis bamboo desk looks gorgeous. I ended up shelling out about $300 total for mine, but the bamboo is probably easier to raise and lower. Do you do that on the fly, to set for sitting vs standing? I imagine an electronic desk (mega-expensive) would be required for that. The adjustable desk let me set the work surface about 4" lower than standard, which makes an enormous difference.

[dualstow]

2nd question first: yes, it's electronic. Even the legs and feet of the desk weigh a ton, which help make the whole thing more stable. That's one of the things Wirecutter liked about it. (They're the site that led me to the Jarvis bamboo in the first place). They reviewed at least one desk that shook just from typing!

So, with a desk this heavy, you need to move it electrically. Wirecutter strongly recommended the programmable option, which I think lets you have four presets. Think of a car's driver seat. I had already sprung for other options: a powered grommet that lets you plug peripherals or phones in AC or USB, cable management, and an under-desk swiveling pencil tray.

The programmable device option added too much to an already expensive desk, so I got the default controller which is just an up arrow and a down arrow. I don't plan to stand at this thing anytime soon, and probably don't have long enough ethernet cables yet. However, it was nice to plug it in and raise it to a height that's perfect for the chair I'm sitting in. (Bought an adjustable chair from the same place, but it's still in the box.

Right now I'm sitting in a dining chair, and would you believe I have hunched over a laundry folding table as my makeshift desk ever since renovation two autumns ago? It's true). My back is much happier now.