Stand There and Look Self-Conscious and Nervous (my standing workstation story)

[Howlin' Moose]

Ok, NF rebels, I'm having some...unorthodox thoughts and maybe you can help me out.

Remember the mountain bed

I'm in college right now (even though my attendance has tapered off...long story, not for this thread), plus I work from my laptop, so that means I spend tons and tons of time on the computer every day. This is a problem I'm sure many people here are familiar with.

I spend most of my time in my dorm room rather than working at the student union building or the library. I don't like sitting down. Yeah, I'm one of the weirdos who hates chairs and all that.

Anyways, I spend most of my time up in my loft working with my laptop on my lap. This is a nice posture - relaxed and neutral and not a stress on the body - but at the same time I can't help but feel that literally lying around for most of the day is not a good idea. I punctuate it with breaks to get up and walk around, of course, but I'm spending more time inert than I'd like to.

Don't put your feet up

The obvious course of action here is to fashion a raised platform that I can put my laptop on (my current desk is obviously too low to stand and work at the same time). I've experimented and have created a prototype standing workstation - a pile of textbooks (plus a printer) that seems to do the trick. I'll provide pictures at some point. Anyways, so I know I can get the standing desk to work, but my biggest problem is the fact that I'm really...uh...anxious about what my roommate will think.

There must be a trope to describe this relationship

For the record, my roommate and I are totally mismatched. To give you an idea...his favorite outfit is gym shorts, no shirt and a backwards baseball cap and he loves going to parties, playing CoD, and blasting LMFAO on the $4000 speaker system he brought with him. Seriously, you can hear that noise pollution 3 floors away. The bass gives me motion sickness. Anyways, I love playing Flash games, watching obscure German noir cartoons and doing other moose things. You get the idea; we're kind of an odd couple.

Back to the point of this thread; should I give a crap what my roommate thinks? I know deep down I shouldn't, because he doesn't seem to care about my opinions and even if he did his opinion shouldn't sway me from doing what's best for me. The problem isn't that I'm torn on the idea and want input; I know I want to make this standing gig work. It's just I'm paralyzed with worries about how weird he'll think I am.

I guess a kick in the ass is what I need, or something. Anybody have any sort of inspiration to help me get over myself and stop caring what my roommate thinks? Or should I just suck it up, stop wasting people's reading time, and go ahead?

(When I finally do this for real, I'll make sure to post anecdotes about his - and his friends' - reaction to it. Should make for some comedy gold. Maybe.)

[Corbab]

To each his own. I say build the desk and DGAF what he says about it. Chances are, it won't be anything, or it'll be some glib comment that he'll forget he said in a couple minutes.

And personally, I think a standing desk is far cooler than partying and overdone bass. Kudos.

[Sydnie]

I concur with Corbab. Honestly, do what you need to do to get yourself healthier. Staying sedentary all of the time isn't going to help you out at all, and standing up may actually help your work. I doubt he'll care but even if he does it doesn't matter. It's YOUR life, not his. I know it sucks having to live with someone that you don't click with and if he says something out of line that makes it even worse, but you're stronger than that. You're obviously more polite than he is from what I can see, so do what you gotta do.

[Howlin' Moose]

Thanks for the comments. I guess I don't really have anything to lose. Heck, the whole floor already knows me as the weird guy who wears Vibrams and takes the stairs rather than the elevator.

Being the single 'weird health nut guy' is hard sometimes when you're surrounded by college kids who don't care about taking care of themselves. Of course, that's why I have such a kickass support group here at NFHQ.

Alright, I guess tomorrow I'll erect my wobbly, imposing tower of doom and not a single f*** will be given about what other peeps think. Healthful non-conformity, OOH-RAH.

(Bonus points if it catches the interest of some open-minded type who I'm able to gently introduce to the wacky world of not sitting down)

[shutterpillar]

You're right, you don't have anything to lose. I say go for it!

[AKLulu]

Good for you, Moose! I have to agree with being proud of non-conformity. I'm pretty good at giving shit right back if someone starts making fun of me for something... or at least say they're jealous. One of my favorites has always been a simple "I know, thanks!" when someone calls me weird. A standing workstation isn't totally uncommon either. I've seen a few people at work making use of them. I can't say that I've been compelled to get one yet, but if that's what makes you happy, go for it!

[JDCoyle]

Do it.

Go for it. And I highly recommend the standing desk idea. And there is a cheap solution...

I'm an aerospace engineer, so I'm surrounded by nerdy weird people all day. Most of us have made our own desks using modifications to the following plan:

http://home.fuse.net/sstaubach/Single_Sheet_Desk.htm

We usually eliminate the "bottom support" section, and it's corresponding cuts. Adjusting the length dimension (65" in the link) of the "Desk Top" section makes the "Side" sections longer. So you can adjust the height of your desk this way, a lot of guys have used this design to build "standing" desks, these guys work at them all day and love it.

[Howlin' Moose]

Good for you, Moose! I have to agree with being proud of non-conformity. I'm pretty good at giving shit right back if someone starts making fun of me for something... or at least say they're jealous. One of my favorites has always been a simple "I know, thanks!" when someone calls me weird. A standing workstation isn't totally uncommon either. I've seen a few people at work making use of them. I can't say that I've been compelled to get one yet, but if that's what makes you happy, go for it!

Hey, Lulu. Thanks for commenting!

I've always struggled with standing out for any reason, mostly cause I've always been 'the fat kid,' and there's all the other stuff that goes with adolescence - acne, feeling awkward in your own body, etc... not to mention my, uh, numerous personality quirks. I spent the better part of my childhood and teenage years trying to be as invisible as possible. I'm sure that's not too uncommon a story.

But, hey, I guess I'll just have to get used to getting more attention. That's the cost of taking care of yourself, I guess. Sad statement about our society, maybe, but whatever. And the judgements of people I won't even be seeing or talking to a year from now aren't really worth a whole lot. Thanks for the encouragement!

Oh, and a note to JDCoyle - I really wish I could modify my desk itself, but unfortunately I'm stuck using the school ones that are pretty much built into the rooms. Of course, they're decommissioning this dorm next year so I doubt they'd care...wishful thinking aside, I'm definitely getting a better solution once I move into an apartment this summer. Hopefully I'll be able to get a premade standing one, but if not I'll definitely be up for some DIY modifications.

[AKLulu]

Haha, I've always been very much the same person - the fat kid, too smart one, un-athletic, the weirdo. I don't think I ever fit in, but in retrospect, I'm glad I didn't. As early as 5th grade I remember infuriating people my own age by taking "weirdo" as a compliment. SO satisfying! I understand that it's harder for some than others. I had a huge family that loved me mostly unconditionally and I guess that having them around made it easy for me to feel like I had nobody to impress.

And you know, attention isn't always a bad thing. Maybe at first it may seem a little negative, but with the help and support of the Rebellion (most especially me ), I know you'll be able to ignore any criticisms that come your way from shallow people like your roommate. Because really? Those are the people that DON'T matter. You're awesome and shouldn't be afraid to own it.

[aj_rock]

For good motivation, try looking up some papers on why large amounts of bed-rest are terrible news for your body.

If TL:DR, they use months of bed-rest to simulate the bodily de-conditioning astronauts experience in space. You know, the kind where they wear those crazy pants and have to work out a bajillion hours a day to prevent? Yeah, that.

[Hardy]

Here's one for ya, just goes to show you're headed in the right direction!

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/standing-at-work/#axzz1ni8HCfB3

[Howlin' Moose]

Well, I pushed back my standing desk experiment. I'll start it this weekend, hopefully earlier. The reason I didn't start today is because I twisted my ankle climbing the stairs of my dorm last night. I tried to walk it off but that just made it worse, so I'm taking it easy for now...which means no prolonged periods of being on my feet.

Part of the reason I think I injured it is cause I just recently started moving a lot (lots of walking around, taking the stairs, doing bodyweight exercises...) after spending several months of being grossly inactive. I'm no health expert but I think all of this has been more than I was sort of ready for. It's kind of scary and kind of discouraging how fragile my body's gotten, but hey, I'm sure I'll be toughening up in no time once I get back into the swing of things.

So, hopefully my ankle heals up in the next day or so and I can go ahead. In the meantime, I'll be cutting down slightly on how many times I take the stairs during the day. It's frustrating but I guess I'll have to ease into this whole 'being active' thing or risk further injury.

[wildross]

Ice and elevation....Even after it stops actively hurting. If you can, put it in a trash can of water and ice. You will probably only be able to stand it for a few seconds at first, but work up to five minutes or so. (as in put it in, take it out, put it back in for longer, etc). I've never frostbitten my feet this way, but I have recovered quickly from ankle sprains.

[girlysogroovy]

You should definitely go for it!

Also, I would like to point out that you will never see that guy again after this one momentary blip in your life... so who cares what he thinks? Would you really sacrifice your health and comfort for his sake?

[Conk]

Art of Manliness did a great write-up on standing desks. I think it'll be a great read for you:

Become a Stand-Up Guy: The History, Benefits, and Use of Standing Desks

[Howlin' Moose]

Thanks for the extra encouragement, people. Now I'm pretty psyched to try this out. I kinda wish my ankle would hurry up and heal.

I don't have any trashcans full of ice water, but I may try out a cold (or a contrast) shower and see if that helps at all. It should, right? Guess I'll find out. I should also mention that when I do transition to working standing up, I'm gonna make sure to stand on a folded up towel, or something similar, (someday I'll spring for one of those nice, expensive anti-fatigue mats) for an added bit of cushioning. I honestly don't know if it'll make a difference or not but it can't be worse than the bare tile floor.

[AKLulu]

You live in the north, it's winter, go out and grab a bag of snow

[morethanjustamom]

Runners World has published a couple of articles about standing workstations as well. They are big advocates over there.

I must be the same type of thinker as you. I work from home as well as handle all the domestic responsibilities, and I rarely sit down, even for tasks where I could (prepping food, folding clothes, ironing). I have a friend who sits to do all these things, but it never occurs to me to sit down. *shrugs*

[Howlin' Moose]

Here's some updates:

My ankle healed up rather quickly, and so I've been looming (maybe that's a poor word choice) over my standing workstation! It really has been quite a system shock at first. Spending this much time on my feet is definitely new to me. I've read others' accounts, and according to them my legs and body should 'get used to it' sometime between a week and a month from now.

My roommate's leered at me a little, but screw him, that's what. I feel surprisingly good (besides a little sore). I've struggled with sleeping problems a lot - due in part, I believe, to being so sedentary - and I find that the gentle exertion of spending so much time on my feet has helped me to fall asleep a lot faster, and to not toss and turn so much. All of this in, oh, just a few days.

Productivity's up. The standing up thing has helped me to focus on my work a lot better. It makes me more mindful. I'm finding it harder and harder to waste time or get distracted. This is a good thing, of course.

I haven't been at this for very long but the changes I'm getting are really positive. I think I'm sold on the whole standing up thing.

One note of caution: even though being upright is better than sitting down, movement is still vital. I don't have to worry, since I'm a really fidgety person, but some people may have to remind themselves to take hourly or half-hourly breaks to walk around, stretch and do some toe raises.

I guess I'll keep everyone (or, at least, anyone who's interested) posted on how this experiment progresses. Like I mentioned above - so far I'm really enjoying this. Despite the slight soreness that comes with adapting to it, standing up just feels a lot better than spending all the time sitting or in bed.

[AKLulu]

Good for you! And yeah, that's always been one of my worries about ever trying a standing desk - my feet start to hurt if I stay in one spot for very long. Even in choir and stuff.... so I'm always trying to wiggle around inconspicuously. That semester of bellydancing I took in college still comes in handy from time to time.... ever try to shimmy without anyone noticing? Maybe I'm asking the wrong crowd...

[Book]

Hmmm... my freshman year of college I got paired with a party animal, on a floor full of party animals (yes, they seemed to try to group people. The floor above would have suited me much better, but I got stuck there by accident). And... it was somewhat hellish. They would take great fun in pointing out my differences, and had no issues with waking me up randomly.

That said... Go for it! There's no way you'll be able to hide your nerdiness from them, so might as well embrace it. I was young and dumb enough to try, and it probably only made things worse. Because like AKLulu... things like (and including) random dancing to my own internal soundtrack can never be hidden for too long. And yes... you're making me think about trying it myself, even though I work in low-walled cube land.

[AKLulu]

...even though I work in low-walled cube land.

But then you could put on some BA sunglasses and pretend your a spy!