Standing Desks

I’ve now been using my WorkFit-S sit/stand desk for a couple of weeks, and it is going well.

Most of the publicity shots and videos show this kind of thing plumped in the middle of the desk – that doesn’t make any sense to me. I have mine as far to one side as I can manage, which leaves a good half of the desk available for non-computer tasks. Since the pictures I first took for Facebook, I have moved the device to the left side of my desk, which I prefer; I have also angled it slightly, so it doesn’t feel like it is just sticking out.

When sitting, it is a very comfortabe position – the keyboard is actually below and in front of the desk, and it feels very natural. I seem to be leaning forward less, and I believe that even seated, I am in a better posture.

The transition to standing is easy – it is simply a matter of grabbing hold of the support and raising the whole thing. It is counterbalanced so no strength is needed. Mine came already adjusted for a standard monitor and laptop, and I didn’t need to change anything; but there is an adjustment screw that changes the balance. In addition to the whole thing moving, the monitor and laptop also have independent movement, which is useful for someone of my height.

I am currently using a little windows app – which is from Varidesk, another standing desk manufacturer, and allows me to set reminders to stand/sit. I currently have this set to standing 10 minutes every hour, and intend to extend this, as I get used to standing. The app allows me to skip transitions or delay them, in case I am in the middle of something and don’t want to be interrupted.

My working day consists of many different kinds of tasks, and I have found that some lend themselves to standing, and other don’t. I find that when I am coding, I always want to be sitting; standing is currently a distraction. However, a significant part of my job is using my company’s data mapper, which is more mouse-based – I’ve found that I quite like standing for this activity; also for dealing with email and – of course – phone calls. So I expect that when I get used to this, I will turn the timer off, and choose my position based on the task I am doing.

The downsides? Very few. Because this item clamps to the front of the desk, it moves your seating position back a bit. So folk in small offices or cubbyholes would need to check they have enough room behind them. There are other solutions – the WorkFit-A, which clips to the back of the desk on a big arm – but they don’t offer the low keyboard position when seated.

There is a slight wobble to the monitor when typing, as the whole thing is tied together with metal floating on counter-weights. This is something that will either bother you or not. I worried about it for a couple of days, and now I don’t even notice it. There is no answer for this, with a small gadget like this – the solution, of course, is to go the whole hog and buy a fully moving desk. I may consider this at some time in the future, when I move my home office; but for now, I am perfectly happy.

Of course, now I am using a standing desk, I am more aware of them in the media. I found this article particularly interesting, it seems like I have accidently stumbled into a “next big thing”.