Alexander Kucera

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Standing Desk

My workday consists, like pretty much everyone else’s these days, of about 99% sitting in front of a computer followed by more sitting on the couch after work. I recently jumped on the bandwagon and decided to stand more often.

Overall I am trying to stand in the morning and sit in the afternoon, which works out fine most days. Occasionally I’ll switch it around, but standing in the morning has the effect of keeping morning drowsiness at bay.

I can confirm that concentrating while standing is a bit harder at first, but on the flip side I find that I am much more focused once I managed to find my focus.

I’m lucky as my desk is already height adjustable. Only by about 10 centimeters or so, but in combination with my height adjustable monitor on a little pedestal it is enough to accommodate a sitting and a standing configuration.

I also built myself a little table for my keyboard, mouse and a glass of water out of a very nice bamboo slab. I’m kind of proud of it. It feels very smooth and doing the little bit of carpentry was refreshing.

Having something I built myself also seems to help with daily motivation to actually stand. I had a crude setup before the bamboo table was finished and I noticed that I skipped standing much more often.

Cost for this little endeavor was about €50, but only because I splurged a bit for a nice wooden slab and some high quality varnish.

After a few weeks I feel good about this setup and am already thinking about upgrading it from a standing to a walking desk. The costs for a good treadmill that will fit under a desk are considerable though. From my research I gathered that one will come in at around €1000 no matter which brand. This will need some more pondering, but in the end it is probably worth it to get more active.