My time is very black and white. Occasionally I’m leading a tour, sometimes hiking up to 9 hours in a day. But most of the time I’m sitting at home (desperately) trying to get work done on the computer while the kids run around screaming, playing, and fighting. I suspect most parents can identify at times at least.

Sitting for long periods of time is…unhealthy. A shocker, I know. So a few days ago I decided to make a change. I can’t remove the need to work on the computer. And I can’t get the kids to act like adults (although you can believe that I’ve tried!!). But I can…..change to a standing desk.

Being a realist I knew switching to a standing desk wouldn’t be easy. So I decided to go low-tech no-investment for the first week. If I make it to the one-week mark then I’ll construct something more aesthetically pleasing and useful than a big board on a couple of boxes. 🙂

Observations from the first four days:

1. Ouch. The first three days my feet and lower back both HURT A LOT.
2. Now (day five) it’s getting much better. Still some pain but it’s receding.
3. It is much easier to step away to do something and then come back and focus again. To an extent I couldn’t comprehend was possible. This is especially useful since this is in our living room and the kids are constantly in need of attention.
4. I used to get shoulder pain when sitting and computing for long periods of time. Sometimes quite bad. Now? None at all. Not even a little bit.
5. I feel more focused. A subjective observation, true.
6. There needs to be a good source of padding under the feet. It makes quite a difference.
7. The table surface needs to be at just-the-right-height. Too low or high results in wrist pain.

That’s it. Considering I’m already feeling considerably better since beginning I expect that I will stick with it as a lifestyle change. Later this week it’ll be time to get the circular saw out and make something more permanent and suitable.