I can walk miles upon miles. But standing still for even 20 minutes hurts. This would not help me.
How to hack yourself a standing desk - an illustrated guide
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Re: How to hack yourself a standing desk - an illustrated guide
#12Google the Ikea Jerker desk. They discontinued the standup model - or rather the model that could be configured as such - but you'd probably be able to find one used on craigslist or ebay.
It is designed for this specifically, although it is big, so you need a good deal of space. I've been using one in my home office for about 7 years now.
Re: How to hack yourself a standing desk - an illustrated guide
#13One problem with this setup is that your hands are not at elbow level. You want a separate keyboard that you can put on a piece of wood or a book or whatever, so that the screen is level with your eyes (when in perfect posture) and the keyboard is level with or slightly below your elbows (when in perfect posture).
Another problem is that the chair tend to roll away as you type :)
But my current setup works very well (pictured here: http://gregschlom.com/about)
I guess it's just a matter of finding the right height for your elbow.
Re: How to hack yourself a standing desk - an illustrated guide
#14Most of these hacks (and the comments in this post) miss a crucial point about standing desks. They are supposed to be ergonomic. [1] Putting your laptop on a bunch of boxes puts a lot of strain on your arms. Of course this also doesn't work if you have a big display on your desk. I'd be interested in hacking a standing desk that is 1) ergonomic 2) offers support for both laptops and big displays 3) has a usable keyb…
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a proper ergonomic standing desk have a bar or step to rest a foot for long-term activity?
Also, are you supposed to hold your elbows in that position for long periods of time? I feel like there should be an extension to rest the forearms or wrists.
Re: How to hack yourself a standing desk - an illustrated guide
#15I can walk miles upon miles. But standing still for even 20 minutes hurts. This would not help me.
The ones that I've seen being put in schools have a little bar to lean forward with one foot. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be a lot more comfortable and ergonomic than standing straight.
Re: How to hack yourself a standing desk - an illustrated guide
#16Ikea sells a "bar table" in the Utby line that works quite well. See:
http://blog.ethanjfast.com/2010/08/on-standing-desks/
I love working this way. My best coding is done barefoot and standing. As far as getting tired goes, in my experience it doesn't take long to adjust. Do be warned, however, that after you become accustomed to standing with good posture, it can be somewhat torturous to sit for extended periods of time.
Re: How to hack yourself a standing desk - an illustrated guide
#17I spent $8 at Home Depot for materials and 10 minutes of assembly for mine: http://i.imgur.com/Aoqpd.jpg They'll cut the wood for you, just measure before you buy.
They'll cut it to fit into your car, but they aren't going to cut it precisely to what you want it to be. At least around here.
Re: How to hack yourself a standing desk - an illustrated guide
#18Google the Ikea Jerker desk. They discontinued the standup model - or rather the model that could be configured as such - but you'd probably be able to find one used on craigslist or ebay. It is designed for this specifically, although it is big, so you need a good deal of space. I've been using one in my home office for about 7 years now.
There's actually a current model at Ikea that works awesomely as a stand up desk: The Fredrik. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00115992
I own one and enjoy it greatly.
Re: How to hack yourself a standing desk - an illustrated guide
#19Most of these hacks (and the comments in this post) miss a crucial point about standing desks. They are supposed to be ergonomic. [1] Putting your laptop on a bunch of boxes puts a lot of strain on your arms. Of course this also doesn't work if you have a big display on your desk. I'd be interested in hacking a standing desk that is 1) ergonomic 2) offers support for both laptops and big displays 3) has a usable keyb…
Thank you for the pointer to that ergonomic diagram - I hadn't thought about the requirement that the wrists be about level with your elbows, but it makes sense that you want to keep your wrists straight and avoid stress.
In my case I simply adjusted the height of the desktop and the monitor separately until it felt right and ended up with exactly what's in the diagram. But the various hacks I see aren't adjustable enough to take an experimental approach.
Desk hackers take note of the parent comment! Measure your elbow height and eye level and build accordingly!
Re: How to hack yourself a standing desk - an illustrated guide
#20I can walk miles upon miles. But standing still for even 20 minutes hurts. This would not help me.
While I work standing, I wouldn't ever say that I work "standing still." I'm constantly shifting my weight across one foot or the other, shifting my upper body slightly, etc...
And if you can't stand for more than 20 minutes, I'd check over your posture. There really is a "right" way to hold yourself, and I haven't found many people (in our desk-conditioned culture) who fall into it naturally.