It’s been one week since I switched to a sit/stand desk setup. It’s time to report back.
A photo posted by Awais Athar (@awais_athar) on Aug 16, 2016 at 7:39am PDT
Here are some of the points to note if you switch to a similar setup.
**Comfortable shoes are a must!**If you can splurge a bit, you can get one of those fancy standing mats. I’ve tried standing barefoot, with thin socks, with thick socks, and in peshawari chappals. All of them gave me foot pain. I switched to running shoes and all was good.
**Alternate between sitting and standing!**Standing too long leads to fatigue (just like sitting too long leads to fat-igue). “Too long” may mean anywhere between 1-3 hours. I’ve found switching after 1-1.5 hours works for me. Today, I was zoned-in and realised after two hours that I was working while standing. Luckily, my desk has buttons to adjust its height so switching doesn’t take long.
**Rest your feet!**Standing too long on both legs, one leg, or heels leads to leg pain. From what I’ve read, foot stools help – I just use my chair or a foot rest (that you can see in the picture above).
Don’t forget you are on a sit/stand setup!
Last Monday morning, my desk was down and over the weekend, I had forgotten that I had to switch to standing mode. I noticed it after lunch and by that time, half of the day had already passed. The trick I try to use now is to leave the desk up when leaving for home. It also helps me the next day when I can start my day right away, standing, after my 25-30 mins of commute.
I’ve noticed that my sluggishness level has lowered a bit during the last week, specially post lunch. Any effects on weight will be noticed later (and will not be reported). Having said that, one week may not be long enough to notice anything so the experiment continues!
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Desk slightly raised. (P.S. I need recommendations for tea-bags closest in taste to Tapal Danedar)[/caption]