I'll admit, I spend most of my time sitting at that desk. I do like standing in the morning as I think it helps me wake up a bit more, but the absolute biggest difference it has made for me is actually being able to sit at my desk with a good posture. *Mix that with a good chair and a vesa monitor mount* and you'll have a lost less back pain. But you'll still want to move around and do some minimal time in the gym or something. A standing desk isn't magic, but let's also be honest, we have adjustable chairs because everyone is sized differently, so why would we not think this is also important for our desks? The chair can't do everything.
Same with chairs, many are designed for the average male height and won't drop low enough.
I guess I would say, don't cheap out on things you want to last a long time and that you use frequently. Things like a desk are one of your most important "tools" as a developer, right? Just like a chair, monitor, and keyboard
I worked at a standing desk at a corp with a strong internal Ergonomics group. Our standing desks were pairs with adjustable chairs with a range of motion much greater than regular chairs. I remember this because I would have preferred using the Herman Miller Aeron, but the taller chairs were better suited for the adjustable desks.
But instead of a fancy mechanism to make the desk go up and down, I have a saddle stool. When sitting on it, my head is at the same level as standing, and my spine is straight. (Key point is monitor position.)
What I like about that is I can swap between sitting to standing in a few seconds without even thinking about it and without waiting for the desk motor to go up or down. This was originally a poor man's standup desk because I didn't have the budget for a motorized desk; now it's a choice.
One issue though is the lack of a back on the stool. You can make the case it’s a Good thing but when I really need to concentrate if I’m tensing muscles in my back to keep straight it won’t be the same—or you can slouch which also isn’t perfect.
I spent some time learning Alexander Technique - which is mostly all about your spine, sitting and standing. I can recommend it.
I find it stimulates repositioning often, preventing staying in one configuration for too long. It also compels me to get up and walk around occasionally, which is a hell of a lot more work than just standing still - sitting on the floor and getting up from floor level, multiple times. Go do some burpees then tell me about your standing desk afterwards.
It also helps retain a child-like level of flexibility.
I really don’t like typing on it while it’s standing since I’m not used to it. That said, I have multiple hour long zoom calls per week for my job where all I do is talk, so I should really try standing for those…
The best solution I like now is a knee stool. It fixes my posture without I having to try too hard.
whynotminot•4mo ago
TheCleric•4mo ago