Standing Desk Challenge: Week Two

My reflections on week two of the 28-day Stand Up and Work Challenge. As described in the post from week one, my goal here is not convince you to try a standing desk, or to explain the general benefits and challenges of standing at work, as others have covered such topics extensively. Instead, this series of posts is more of a journal of personal observations, successes, and challenges. Hopefully those who are trying out standing can learn some little tips, and those on the fence can get an idea of the actual experience of this transition.

Observations: week two

Day 6, 72 minutes. Committing to doing a few seconds of stretching before and/or after each standing session to fight fatigue and tightness.

Day 7, 84 minutes. Instead of getting tired of standing today, I got tired of sitting and spent some extra time standing.

Day 8, 96 minutes. Time goes by pretty quickly during standing periods. Long sessions don’t feel long anymore.

Day 9, 108 minutes. Noticed a tendency to stand with my feet too close together, which hinders good hip and back posture. Feet should normally be about hip width apart.

Day 10, 120 minutes. Last week I became more aware of bad habits, discomfort, etc., while sitting. As the amount of seated time decreases, and as seated posture hopefully improves, sitting is starting to feel OK again.

Favoring multiple shorter standing sessions

This week, the standing sessions are long enough to split into two shorter periods each day. This worked out well: seated time periods are even shorter and it helps ensure that I move around more often.

This highlights the importance of having an adjustable desk, two fixed-height surfaces, or some other setup that makes it simple to switch modes. When it only takes a few seconds to switch, there is no barrier to move between sitting and standing as often as you want.

Next week

Next week, as the daily standing periods reach up to three hours total, it will be necessary to think about making a more regular daily routine of switching between sitting and standing. Also, I want to focus on moving around a little more while standing.