Many moons ago, I was lunching with some friends at the Heuther Hotel in Waterloo, Ontario. It seemed like just a normal day, until a young man known as Mac tried to place an order for “cheesy-fries.” I had never heard anyone order cheesy-fries before, so I listened intently, even though it sounded like a poor man’s poutine. Upon hearing the order, the waitress paused for a moment and said “Sorry, we don’t have cheesy-fries.”
Almost immediately, Mac asked:
“You got fries?” – “Yes” she replied.
“You got cheese?” – “Yes.”
“You got cheesy-fries, and I’ll have one of those please.”
I didn’t know it at the time, but this cheeky little exchange would stick with me for years.
A few months ago, I decided that I should get a standing desk. I can’t preach good ergonomics from my indentation in the couch. Unfortunately, I quickly found out that these standing desks are expensive. When I saw the ridiculous prices of these desks, my brain said “hold on a second, pal” and it brought me back to the restaurant and those fateful cheesy-fries. I decided that a standing desk is nothing more than a long-legged desk, a desk is nothing more than a flat surface, and flat surfaces are everywhere!
So I placed an order to myself:
“Do you have a flat surfaces?” – “Yep.”
“Do you have stuff to change the height of these flat surfaces?” – “Yep.”
“You got a standing desk, and I’ll have one of those please.”
Obviously I have more ergonomic equipment lying around than the average bear, so I’m at a little bit of an advantage. With a simple laptop riser, an external keyboard, a plus-sized Finnish-Canadian model and an external mouse, I was able to whip up this tasty little morsel.
The most important concepts in standing desk ergonomics are the height of the keyboard and the height of the screen.
Screen:
Stand up nice and tall, with your neck straight. The top of your screen should be around the height of your eyes, but you can adjust the height according to your preferences. I like em’ tall.
Keyboard:
When you’re standing up nice and straight, lower your shoulders and bend your elbows to roughly 90 degrees. Keep your wrists straight and let your fingers bend down naturally – this is where the keyboard should be stationed. Your mouse should be right beside it.
So with an external mouse and keyboard, it was extremely easy to rig up a very functional standing desk. So easy, that I wondered how many different combinations of functional standing desks I could make, with only the stuff in my condo. Then the magic happened:
For this standing desk, I used the dresser in my bedroom, a file-box and an upside down tray. Perfectly functional.
For this next one, I stacked up a side-table on a dinner table. Obviously I threw down a few placemats for safety. To lift up the keyboard, I used some bongos and the laptop is resting on the box for a raclette grill. Again, perfectly functional.
You might not believe it, but the next standing desk used to be our washer and dryer. The laptop is being lifted up by some folded clothing. I found that the dryer sheets really gave the workstation a nice essence.
So you see, you don’t need to spend a Mini Cooper full of $50 bills to use the most efficient and healthiest positioning on the office ergonomics scene. If you decide to make your own standing desk, take a picture and send it in.
If you’re interested in an ergonomic, compact, wall-mounted standing desk that is NOT made of old dictionaries or Costco boxes, visit Gereghty Desk Co. at www.StandingDesks.ca
Take a brief walk, then come back and read another blog:
Make Your Own Standing Desk!
What Rafael Nadal’s big nasty can teach you about ergonomics.
Do I sit too much?
Ergonomics Fail: A real pain in the coccyx.
The Swiss Ball will save us!
Your wrists are like baby squirrels.
photo credit: fensterbme via photopin cc