Standing While Working

Coverage of the standing desk revolution in The Washington Post (via Tyler Cowen). I usually sit for about 1-2 hours in the workday, plus whatever comes up in meetings, and stand for the rest. It's pretty great. Back feels better, legs get stronger quickly, you burn somewhat more calories, and research (as detailed in the piece) seems to point toward some other benefits.

But I don't want people to be too put off by sentences like "GeekDesk, a California company that sells $800 desks raised by electric motors, says sales will triple this year." I'm sure GeekDesk's $800 electric motor desks are lovely, and maybe some day in the future I'll have the pleasure of trying one. But I started standing with a laptop perched on a stack of books, and am now using something that looks like a music stand or a little lectern.

Point being: If you want to stand up, I'm sure you can find a way. One good place to start is that many people (though not me) talk on the phone a fair amount at work. You should be able to do your phone calls while standing without any kind of special equipment and then see how you feel about it.