Getting Off My Butt At Work
MC August 1st, 2010
It all started after reading this story. I began to remember how much more alert and focused I felt working at radio stations, while standing behind a console rather than sitting.
I could shell out $800 for an electric sit/stand desk from GeekDesk.com, but what if I didn’t like it and ended up sitting most or all of the day?
That inspired me to bring in a tape measure to work last week and take some measurements. Then I headed for Home Depot to see if I could find some raw materials that I could whip into a functional and inexpensive booster to turn my existing sit-down desk into a stand-up desk. I also wanted something light enough that I could simply set aside if I wanted to go back down to my original desk height.
After picking up a couple of 2′ x 4′ MDF boards, brackets, screws, and rubber feet, I headed over to Jo-Ann Fabric to look for some vinyl coverings. Even though it’s not a store I frequent, I was able to quickly find a yard of navy blue vinyl that I thought might work. It had no soft batting attached, so I thought it should make a decent writing surface upholstered over a sheet of sanded plywood.
I wanted the height of the unit to be 15″ so, when set on top of my existing desk, it would be even with the base of my elbows and arms parallel to the ground while standing up. It took an hour or so to put it together with an assortment of power tools. The next morning, I had something I couldn’t wait to try out in my office. I had spent a total of around $25 on it all, half of that on the yard of vinyl.
Here are some pictures of how my desk looked BEFORE…
Here’s a shot from the front of my desk.
Now, here’s how it looked AFTER I placed it on my desk.
And from the front…
Turns out that little pack of PostIt notes balances the base perfectly!
I’ve read that it takes a week to get used to a stand-up desk. So far, I’ve used it for 3 working days and I’m really starting to like it. I brought in a bar stool for sitting while doing less intensive tasks. But I find myself standing most of the day and am feeling pretty productive!
Time will tell if I end up keeping it but so far it’s looking pretty promising.
A few of my co-workers were coveting my new contraption. Two of them opened their wallet and threw money at me to make them one too! Guess what I did this weekend? Pictures (and detailed plans) coming soon!
