I will honestly never forget the first few months I sat behind a desk.... Yes the feelings of excitement at my new (and current) company. But also the horrible aches and pains. My neck, shoulders, back, hips, and legs. I didn't understand. I was healthy, in my late 20's and honestly in the best shape of my life.
It didn't take long, maybe 6 months, before my body gave in to defeat. Slowly it accepted it's new situation. I did what I could- kept a straight posture. Exercised several times a week.
At the time I didn't know that doctors say that running 1 hour a day doesn't off set sitting for 8 hours a day. I didn't know that it's said that those who sit for a living at a desk have the same risk of heart disease as a life long smoker. I just.... Didn't know.
Last year I was given the option to work from home once in awhile. My desk at home is even less comfortable and I started thinking- I just want to stand.... Can't I just.....? What? Just stand.
To the garage I went. I made a small platform. It was quite the contraption with dowels and pins but too big, too heavy, and frankly, ugly as hell. Anybody can do a basic Pinterest search for a stand up desk. I didn't want a box on my desk but mostly! I didn't want to stand all day long just because I had set up some weird thing on my desk. No. My desk needed to go up and down.
They sell that. Yep. For $600-$3000 I could buy a desk to go up. And to go down. Well, first I have to put two girls through college. Well. I could feign medical need and somehow convince my company that I needed it, let them foot the bill. Even if I felt ok about that the issue was the footprint of my cubicle laced building.
I realized I needed something to exist and co-habitate with my existing desk. I could buy one of those too. They cost at least $350. And require mounting monitors and other red-tape causing requests....
I could build one.
It has to go up. Has to go down. No electricity. Affordable.
Prototype one didn't go down, and number two wouldn't either. Number three did both but took hulk like strength to get up and equal parts to wrestle down but the movement was there. Number 4 got it. But ugly as sin. Number 5 was pretty but not comfortable. Number 6 is it. And I'm working on the (hopefully) last prototype now. Lucky number 7.
I have been standing since August while at work. I love it. I started out only able to manage an hour or so at a time. I now stand most of the day just sitting to answer the phone, do paper work, or eat lunch. I love it. I like springing to the printer, a quick walk to a co-workers desk. My energy is high. And at the end of the day sitting for my 1.5hour commute home feels great.
Here is prototype 5 at home:
And in action at a desk:
More to follow. I have heaps of pictures and a video but this gets us started....
NOW WHAT?
