Standing Desk Experiment – Day 80

When I started using a standing desk, I wanted to post an update after I’d been using it for 30 days.

Well, it’s been 80 days, or 58 working days anyway. (56 if you live in the US. I found a great website for calculating elapsed days, with/without holidays and weekends – timeanddate.com)

So, I’m still using the desk, exactly as you see it in the first post. I’ve made zero changes, and I’m happy.

The First Week

Well it was still novelty, and I never really felt like sitting down. I did fell pretty tired in the evenings and my legs felt like I’d been walking all day, so tried to make sure I sat down for an hour or do to rest them. Other than that though, it just felt like I’d spent the day walking.

The First Month (or two)

Overall, I think it’s been positive. When you’re sitting, it’s easy to lapse into a sort-of-working state: especially in the afternoons. You know, you’re going through the motions, but you’re head isn’t really in it. I don’t get that when I’m standing up – I don’t ever feel tired. However, I’m still using my brain as much, so sometimes in the afternoon my brain gets tired and so I find my mind wandering, or my concentration going, in a similar but different way. Instead of feeling lethargic like I did when I was sitting, I feel more distracted: like I have energy but it’s not being channeled.

I’ve had no back or neck problems at all all the time I’ve been standing. I did used to sometimes when sitting, so I think that’s a positive.

One thing I found was that I was getting pain in my right hand, in the muscle area opposite the thumb (the Hypothenar apparently). I have a Microsoft Natural Ergonomic keyboard which has wrist rests, which I think is a must if you’re standing to ensure you keep a good position with your hands. But I didn’t have anything similar with my mouse, and I found I was leaning on that part of my hand a lot, which hurt. Problem was solved with this mouse mat, which has a gel-filled rest.

I’ve changed how I do lunch-breaks. Previously I wanted to walk around, stretch my legs. Now, I try and sit for a bit! Not for an hour, just 10-5 mins seems to be enough. I don’t do this every day, and if I don’t do it, I don’t regret it in the afternoons, I’m just a bit more tired in the evenings. (by the way, my evenings are usually active and I would have stopped standing at work if I ended up too tired to teach diving or do DIY etc)

Lots of people advocate using standing mats, and I can see why. Depending on what shoes you wear you may find the balls of your feet and heels hurt after a while. I haven’t bought a standing mat, mostly because in the UK they’re really expensive. I very nearly bought one last time I was in the US (Bath, Bed & Beyond!), but the dimensions were too big for my suitcase, and I didn’t think it would roll very well. And… I’m kinda OK not having one. If I wear trainers it’s fine, it’s only with dress shoes that I find a problem.

Also, I sit down for meetings! We have impromptu meetings in our office, and I feel more comfortable sitting down with everyone else, rather than towering over them! That tends to give me a bit of a rest as well.

So, overall I’m happy, and I’m going to keep on using the desk. I’ve even manage to convince my colleague into trying it as well: not by me trying to get him into it, but after spending a few days forcibly standing whilst we pair-programmed he didn’t have much choice!

Written by Tom Morgan

Tom is a Microsoft Teams Platform developer and Microsoft MVP who has been blogging for over a decade. Find out more.

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Standing Desk Experiment Day 1: Building a Cheap Standing Desk