How and Why I Switched to a Standing Desk

I almost died from two large pulmonary embolisms 4 years ago from sitting too long while working (I injured my shoulder, was bored not being able to do normal physical activities, so I ramped up my consulting work to 10+ hours a day - sitting).

Fortunately I recovered OK, and I now switch between three different working postures/environments: sitting at my desk with my legs raised under the desk, in a lazy boy chair with a lap desk, and using a high counter so I can stand. I also use a timer on my laptop that I set for 20 minutes when I take a minute to walk over and scratch my parrot's head: good for me to get up and the parrot likes it.

It is time consuming but I also try to hike and/or walk 5 to 8 hours a week. The exercise and social interactions (I have a pool of 20+ people I hike with) nicely offsets spending a lot of time in front of a computer.

More on the topic: http://www.localconspiracy.com/2010/08/get-up-stand-up.html (Full disclosure - I wrote that. I've been using a stand-up desk for 9 months now. I'll never switch to sitting down again!)

I've started making sn effort to do the opposite. I work sitting down, and do all my idol browsing, email, video watching standing up while using an iPad. So working is the relaxing part of my day.

This timing is perfect! Just yesterday I was reading the post about how sitting for hours at a time increases risk of heart problems significantly (regardless of exercise) and... began to wonder if it'd be feasible to work at my computer standing up. I use a laptop but I think I could definitely work something out.

It'd probably make me an overall happier and more motivated (to do other things) person. I've noticed that sitting down all day staring at my laptop makes me feel like crap and not really care to do anything else.

Again... perfect timing for this article. Now I just need to figure out how to make the transition...