Taking a stand against sitting

I get asked a lot about my "standing desk" at work.

That's in quotes because it's not a real-deal standing desk like one of these fancy >$1,000 pieces of hardware or one of these even crazier >$5,000 treadmill contraptions that are just a bit over-the-top.

Mine's more like a standing desk hack. I made it by simply placing a TableTote™ I purchased for ~$25 on top of my regular company-issued desk. A TableTote™ looks like a foldable tray with detachable, telescoping legs. According to their website, it's intended to be used for resting laptops and projectors during presentations, but I find it works great for adding extra height to my desk. If you're wondering what this looks like, here I am in action at my standing desk:

I first started using this DIY standing desk in 2012, after reading tons of articles about the dangers of sitting all day.  Research done by endocrinologist James Levine of the Mayo Clinic found that sitting at a desk for more than four hours a day increases your risk of heart problems by 125 percent and increases your risk of death from any cause by nearly 50 percent.  (The "any cause" language is a bit of a question mark, but I'm assuming that applies to disease-related causes of death not other causes of death like random accidents.)

It took a few weeks to adjust to standing most of the day, but now I'm used to used it. Some days I alternate between sitting and standing, but  I do my best to stand most of the time. Overall, I feel like it's helped with posture, back soreness, and that feeling of "I've been immobile for ~8 hours today and I feel like crap about myself" that sets in after a day stuck inside an office.

One outcome of using a standing desk has been totally unexpected: networking. Since my office is an open floor layout, many curious passers by have stopped to introduce themselves and ask questions about the contraption. It's been a great way to meet different people from all levels of the company who I otherwise wouldn't interact with.

So, if you sit most of the day, this is a really easy and cheap way to be a little healthier every day. Plus, you might end up meeting some new people as a result.

For some standing desk recommendations and tips on how to best position one, check out this article from Wired.

Shop TableTote™ (starting at $27.99) here.