Standing Workstations

So the word is out that sitting is bad. And most people have pretty bad ergonomics when they are sitting, anyway. This was certainly the case for me: my desk sits 30 inches above the ground, which is about 6 inches too high for my chair. If I were to raise my chair, then my knees would be overly strained. As you can see, my wrists are at a pretty awful angle.

Bad Ergonomics is Bad

Not to mention that I also have a serious clutter issue.

Clutter Clutter Clutter Clutter

And I can’t even see a large part of my second monitor.

Hidden Monitor
Whatcha doin' back there? Ya hidin?

I yearned for something that would, I don’t know, kinda… fix it.

Actually, now it kind of looks like an escalator for laptops.

And then I remembered, “I work in a freakin’ hackerspace! We have things, like tools, and wood! I could, you know, bang some hammers together or something.So I said…

So I took some measurements and tried to get a better idea of how this would work.

I was actually wearing shorts today, but didn't feel like drawing the back of a shoe.

And then I got really serious.

Aha! Why did I not just use real graph paper? What was the point of drawing a grid first? IDK, I was bored.

And after a couple of hours of banging hammers together, I had something.

It's ugly, but I don't really care. I am the awesomest boy in the world now.

You can’t really see it under there, but I also now have access to my printer, which before was under a pile of papers and other boxes.

7 Replies to “Standing Workstations”

  1. Whoa, this totally reminds me of something you will really like. Corporations have learned that ee’s are cheaper if they are healthier. So, they now have terminals and keyboards mounted to treadmills and have people walk really slowly throughout the day. It’s actually pretty genius and I do think this is a doable hack if you can get a treadmill into HIVE LOL

  2. Sean I love your standing station. I sit most the day, so I don’t like the idea of sitting around during the evening and on the weekend. maybe I will build a station of my own!

  3. Zengirl2: Haha, I think I’ll just stick to taking walks around the city. Good excuse to take a break and let the brain stew.

    Steve: if you need any help, just stop by and I will be more than glad.

  4. The paradox of lardassification. 🙁 Gym rats are almost always on the move but I’d suggest that most gym rats have a more tightly wound scheduler in the old noggin…. or they are having more of a mediated experience by a reduction of free will and thought / actions being injected from afar.

    Once the techie crowd (my lard included) realizes that it is highly likely we are binary life and have acquired sufficient knowledge of the world, we will be assigned or choose for ourselves more “physical” realities. Lots of the old presidents had wooden stands that they read books at while standing. Those were also times with to some extent a deeper intelligence of the men of knowledge and wisdom… they didn’t have to sit and ponder the world as much, or electronics. They took joy in a horse. A thunderstorm. Craftsmanship. I’m all for that era… as long as there is a wormhole for toilet paper delivery.

  5. Nice! I’ve always preferred standing during working, if possible. (I also tend to stand while playing videogames, motion controls be damned.)
    Just make sure you have a tall chair or bar stool equivalent ready; as good as standing can be for you, too much can be bad for your knees over a long period of time. Stand when you’re feeling tired or restless, but sit every once in a while to refocus.

  6. Hello. Good effort! If I could make 1 suggestion. Elevate the screens closer to eye level so you don’t strain your neck looking down all day 🙂 or we could scavange some metal and start welding things together! Maybe an adjustable telescoping platform(s)., Your call. I will weld in exchange for more Linux know how. 😀

    1. The main screen *is* at eye-level, which is indicated in the drawing. The other screen is not possible to put at eye-level because it’s attached to the laptop and the laptop must be at elbow level to make typing comfortable. I only use the laptop screen to hold windows that I don’t look at very often, the upper screen is the main work screen.

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