Sunday, February 15, 2015

WTF Adjustable Standing Desks

   So I basically have a standing desk that I made, copying the mighty Armenius, by stacking a bunch of old journals on my desk. I saw that you can buy these fancy adjustable desks that go up and down...for a lot of money. Thing is, you really only need an adjustable chair, which is cheaper. In fact, you really just need a tall chair, e.g. a bar stool or something. If you're standing, you use the tall version of the desk. And if you sit on a tall chair, you use the tall version of the desk. So why have a short version of the desk at all?
   But laying out hundreds of dollars for an adjustable desk seems kinda silly to me. Unless you're committed to sitting near the ground, I don't get it.

6 Comments:

Blogger Random Michelle K said...

I dunno, good ergonomic chairs are expensive, and most don't go up that high. And lab chairs (the height for working at a taller bench or table) don't go down low enough to sit at a regular table (says the voice of experience). Maybe a really expensive architect chair? But then you could probably by one of the less expensive standing desks for that much money (I've seen a nice one that sits on a regular desk and elevates when you want to stand.)

That said, I'm not interested in a standing desk, because standing still hurts my feet.

A treadmill desk on the other hand, I would RAWK.

4:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Would this work for you, Michelle?
http://www.instructables.com/id/Hamster-Wheel-Standing-Desk/

1:55 PM  
Blogger The Mystic said...

I've personally found the superior solution is just to get up and go for a 15 minute walk every 2 hours or so. I am far more comfortable sitting while working, and the walk is a nice reprieve from work, providing a good physical and mental recharge.

10:39 AM  
Blogger Random Michelle K said...

YES! A hamster wheel desk has, in fact, been recommended to be before.

Of course, I have a job that regularly gets me away from my desk, and I generally walk for 30 minutes every day at lunch, so I'm not the target audience for a standing desk. (I have a pedometer, and most days I get 10k to 13k steps.)

But I do know people who aren't that lucky or who get focused and completely lose track of time.

4:12 PM  
Blogger Winston Smith said...

MK,

Ah, I just have shitty chairs in both my campus and home offices...so that never occurred to me...

Still, seems like it might be cheaper and more efficient to make adjustable chairs than adjustable desks...

8:16 AM  
Blogger Random Michelle K said...

Strangely, I think it's probably the other way around.

A standing desk can be pretty much one size fits all, but office chairs--unless you have shitty ones (like I do at work) can be really expensive.

My brother who is 6'5" bought a special office chair that was suitable for someone as tall as he is. An old office mate had to buy a special chair because she was really short. (Aeron Chairs can cost upwards of $800--and those are ergonomic chairs, not leather "executive" chairs)

And geeks--the people most likely to be picky about their chairs, are also most likely to be the ones who need standing desks.

Did I convince you yet?

;)

9:51 AM  

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