I do work standing at the computer for extended time sometimes at my workplace (at my own whim and for purely comfort-related reasons).
I received a SIGTHTBABW (signal sent by Unix to its programmers to remind them that There Has To Be A Better Way), took some materials I have stashed for this project and assembled Something. It is somewhat strange and could be way more symmetrical, but I work in a nice enough place to afford not caring about that.
So, it is a very light thing out of plastic which I put on top of my desk (and then the notebook goes on top). The height was choosen more or less arbitrarily by standing in a random comfortable position.
What poses happen:
1) I am standing at my desk, notebook on The Thing, hands resting on the notebook.
2) The same, one leg bent in the knee and on the chair.
3) The same, but standing on my knees on the chair.
4) The Thing is stashed, I sit on my desk, custom-made notebook legs ensure that notebook keyboard is in a comfortable position for me.
5) I stand at my desk, The Thing slightly moved further from the front of the desk, a second monitor lies on the desk upside towards me. Its downside (further from me) is lifted by its leg.
There are cases when I work sitting all the day, or when I work standing all the day.
What I have already noticed:
Standing desk illustrates that it is easy for a human to maintain physical comfort by slightly changing the pose across a wide range of options, and keeping a single pose—whatever it is—is often less comfortable. So, having easily accessible options turned out to be very nice.
With some variability in poses, even using the second monitor (and suboptimal hand placement) doesn’t tire me.
It looks like whether I sit or stand doesn’t matter too much for my typing speed.
Of course, you need to have good leg stamina or switch between sitting and standing every so often.
By extrapolating my experience, I’d guess that if you get a real standing desk you might want to have both a high stool and a low (knee-high) chair handy.
I tried ‘position 2’ and it works fairly well; 3 doesn’t work for me though because my chair rotates. I also occasionally sit for short periods at my desk, even though the keyboard tray is just below shoulder height and I have to tilt my gaze upwards about 20 degrees to see the screen. I can also set my laptop on the top (monitor) level of the desk (not optimal for typing), or use it sitting down in a variety of positions. If I pay attention, I do notice that I shift around a decent amount while standing, most likely only because it’s uncomfortable to stand perfectly still for any length of time, as you mentioned.
I’ve only been using the standing desk for 2 weeks; I’m not sure whether I’ll revert back to sitting all the time if I do get a high stool, but I’m considering getting one so I can have the option.
Yup, I tried sitting at the desk with The Thing there, it is annoyingly uncomfortable.
My chair is actually rotatable and even has wheels; it is just worn enough that it requires slight effort to make it roll or rotate.
I noticed that when standing it is easier to shift around than when sitting, which is sometimes nice. Also, when sitting you can sometimes get your legs numb because of compressing something not inteded for being compressed—no such problem when standing.
By the way, I tried almost shoulder-height position for notebook (abuse of a preexisting shelf); this is slightly more comfortable for the reading part but noticeaby reduces typing comfort. I guess with a desktop computer and a real standing desk you get best of both worlds here.
For me it would not be good, though—working on the notebook has some benefits, and I also need around three movements to switch to “sit down together and talk” mode whenever I discuss something with coworkers.
I do work standing at the computer for extended time sometimes at my workplace (at my own whim and for purely comfort-related reasons).
I received a SIGTHTBABW (signal sent by Unix to its programmers to remind them that There Has To Be A Better Way), took some materials I have stashed for this project and assembled Something. It is somewhat strange and could be way more symmetrical, but I work in a nice enough place to afford not caring about that.
So, it is a very light thing out of plastic which I put on top of my desk (and then the notebook goes on top). The height was choosen more or less arbitrarily by standing in a random comfortable position.
What poses happen:
1) I am standing at my desk, notebook on The Thing, hands resting on the notebook.
2) The same, one leg bent in the knee and on the chair.
3) The same, but standing on my knees on the chair.
4) The Thing is stashed, I sit on my desk, custom-made notebook legs ensure that notebook keyboard is in a comfortable position for me.
5) I stand at my desk, The Thing slightly moved further from the front of the desk, a second monitor lies on the desk upside towards me. Its downside (further from me) is lifted by its leg.
There are cases when I work sitting all the day, or when I work standing all the day.
What I have already noticed:
Standing desk illustrates that it is easy for a human to maintain physical comfort by slightly changing the pose across a wide range of options, and keeping a single pose—whatever it is—is often less comfortable. So, having easily accessible options turned out to be very nice.
With some variability in poses, even using the second monitor (and suboptimal hand placement) doesn’t tire me.
It looks like whether I sit or stand doesn’t matter too much for my typing speed.
Of course, you need to have good leg stamina or switch between sitting and standing every so often.
By extrapolating my experience, I’d guess that if you get a real standing desk you might want to have both a high stool and a low (knee-high) chair handy.
I tried ‘position 2’ and it works fairly well; 3 doesn’t work for me though because my chair rotates. I also occasionally sit for short periods at my desk, even though the keyboard tray is just below shoulder height and I have to tilt my gaze upwards about 20 degrees to see the screen. I can also set my laptop on the top (monitor) level of the desk (not optimal for typing), or use it sitting down in a variety of positions. If I pay attention, I do notice that I shift around a decent amount while standing, most likely only because it’s uncomfortable to stand perfectly still for any length of time, as you mentioned.
I’ve only been using the standing desk for 2 weeks; I’m not sure whether I’ll revert back to sitting all the time if I do get a high stool, but I’m considering getting one so I can have the option.
Yup, I tried sitting at the desk with The Thing there, it is annoyingly uncomfortable.
My chair is actually rotatable and even has wheels; it is just worn enough that it requires slight effort to make it roll or rotate.
I noticed that when standing it is easier to shift around than when sitting, which is sometimes nice. Also, when sitting you can sometimes get your legs numb because of compressing something not inteded for being compressed—no such problem when standing.
By the way, I tried almost shoulder-height position for notebook (abuse of a preexisting shelf); this is slightly more comfortable for the reading part but noticeaby reduces typing comfort. I guess with a desktop computer and a real standing desk you get best of both worlds here.
For me it would not be good, though—working on the notebook has some benefits, and I also need around three movements to switch to “sit down together and talk” mode whenever I discuss something with coworkers.