Stand-up work

Tag: stand-up-work

• On working standing up, 8 years later (21 July 2021)
  I started using a standing desk as my default setup eight years ago. It's time for a retrospective, to share some learnings, and to see what options the future holds.
• On working 'standing up' - take 2 (8 December 2015)
  There is no math that can help you in finding the right setup to work when standing up. It’s not easy and keep in mind that is a long process made of trials and failures unless you find something that works for you.
• On working 'standing up' (1 July 2015)
  

  I have been a stand-up worker for almost 2 years, I started to work standing up due to a couple of really annoying things:

  • Cervical arthritis;
  • A broken coccyx (when I was young I used to be somewhat reckless);

  To be clear, I sat down for almost 15 years with a broken coccyx, so that is not the real issue and cervical arthritis as well is not the real issue. The real issue, 2 and a half year ago, was being unable to sleep due to something like 130k Euros of unpaid invoices, everything else is a detail and a consequence (I was a freelance at that time).

  Retrospective

  Were my physical issues solved? No, alleviated yes, or, much better, hidden. Standing up forces you, at least in the beginning, to put yourself in the correct postural position, and if monitors, keyboard and mouse are in the right place at the correct height you are good to go.

  Monitors

  I started to think, after using them for something like 25 year, that 2 monitors are the worst choice ever. I have one monitor right in front of me and the second one on the left side, the second one is gradually becoming useless. It forces me to turn my neck, turning that in the long term force your body in a unnatural position.

  My plan is to try a different setup with one single 4K display. Another solution is to use more than one monitor in portrait.

  Mouse

  The mouse, while standing up, is far worse than when sitting down. Your right, or left, shoulder stands in the worst position ever, because the forearm cannot rest anywhere and you live all the time with a contracted trapezium.

  I love the Microsoft Trackball Explorer 1.0. I bought my first one 22 years ago, and I recently won a bid on eBay for a used one in pretty good condition.

  One last thing.

  You do not really need to stand up, what you need is to be sure that:

  • Monitor(s) are in the right place at the correct height;
  • Your back and neck stands in the correct position using for example:
    • A balance cushion;
    • Or a Reebok ball;