Working with a Standing Desk

The desk pictured above can be purchased on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2oa8RjN

Standing desks are becoming more and more common across offices around the world, but there are still so many people who are curious, but still a little scared to take the jump and just give it a try. As somone who has been working on a standing desk for a while (and who absolutely loves it) I thought I'd put together a quick list of pros and cons so that if someone is curious about trying it and would like to know more, they have a general idea of what they can expect. 

Pros

• Helps you burn extra calories
• Helpful for back pain and posture
• Emphasizes good ergonomics
• Keeps you more awake and alert while you are working
• Great conversation starter (seriously, tons of people will stop by to ask what you think of working while standing and it's awesome because you get to talk to people you normally wouldn't)

Cons

• Can be a little tiring at first (and it will get tiring no matter what if you try to stand for an entire eight hour day)
• If you don't get a desk that is the proper height, it will be uncomfortable to type 
• It can be hard to focus at first 
• Adjustable standing desks can get expensive
• If you work with multiple monitors, you will have to invest in something sturdy enough to hold everything or you will have to get used to working with less monitors

Tips

• Don't spend a lot of money (at least at first), it's easy to create a makeshift standing desk (see my ironing board standing desk below) while you test out whether working standing is easy for you
• Alternative standing desks can include: stacks of printer paper, an ironing board, textbooks, or even a simple bedside table from IKEA that you place on top of your existing desk
• Try it a little bit at a time, don't try to stand for an entire work day the first day you have your new desk
• Invest in a comfy mat to help prevent your feet from starting to hurt

Summary

Working at a standing desk can seem strange at first, but after working on one at three different offices over the course of 3 years i can honestly it has benefitted my health and my workflow in everyway. I highly recommend you give it a try at least for a few weeks even just for 30-60 minutes a day and I am pretty sure you will start to see at least a few benefits and once you get more comfortable with the idea, you will very likely get hooked!