Ask Slashdot: What Is the Future of Standing/Walking Workstations? 204
secretrobotron writes "As a developer who spends most of each day at the same desk in the same chair, I'm concerned about ergonomics and what I can do to keep my body from wasting away while I program. Some IT professionals have the relative luxury of being able to walk around on a headset, solving problems, installing equipment, etc. My utopia (albeit a pretty low-bar) is a world in which technology exists to allow me to walk about as I program. My question is, what's available? Are people working on mobile-programming in this way? Are there hybrid standing workstations which allow me to take advantage of pacing-enabled programming?"
The future is (kinda) here (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm currently working at my treadmill. I've clamped a cheap-ass particleboard shelf to the thing, and I walk at a nice relaxed 2-2.5 mph while I work. It holds my laptop, tablet, and phone, with plenty of room to spare for a beer. Works wonderfully. Granted, I'm not actually going anywhere, but it's an excellent way to get a long, easy, steady level of physical exercise in without actually impinging on your productivity one whit. Between this treadmill and carefully tracking my intake (using a Fitbit,) I've lost nearly [30 pounds|14 kilos] since January.
As for mobility, we're beginning to hit the point where tablet apps can be used for real, if not necessarily heavy, work. Diet Coda is a good example. There's some nice connectivity out there, too: the company I work for uses Lync and Adobe Connect, both of which have surprisingly rich tablet apps available. If you do meetings and/or collaborative work, they're quite nice.
Re:Plantar Fasciitis? (Score:5, Insightful)
Planter Faciitis is a common overuse injury lots of runners get as well. Anytime you are using/overusing muscles in a way your body is unaccustomed to it can cause problems. Still, problems caused by exercise, usually have simple solutions, like easing up a little or adding a different exercise to compensate. Overall your risks of health problems are far greater from lack of exercise than from an overuse injury.
I say if you are interested in a standing desk, try it out, but have a backup sitting station as your body gets accustomed to it's newly used muscles.
What the fuck, slashdot? (Score:0, Insightful)
Seriously? What a fucking retarded question. Reflect for a moment, and you'll answer your own question. I suggest that you, as a programmer, get a gym membership and exercise either before or after work. Do you really think you can do your job effectively in any position other than sitting down? Have you imagined this scenario for more than one second? If so, you should probably have an answer to your own question. The reason everything you're imaginingg is awkward is because writing code for 8 hours in any position other than sitting at a desk IS FUCKING AWKWARD.
A year of standing (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm approaching a year at my standing desk. Here are the benefits I've noticed:
- I've got more energy
- I'm more productive, I don't seem to have that power down after lunch any more
- Less loitering around my desk as people can't seem to stand for very long
- Great conversation topic, people are extremely interested in the idea
- The most surprising aspect of this has been that sitting has actually become a relaxing break. It feels great to take a load off and I feel much less lazy about going home and watching a show or two since I've been up all day.
After some research I ended up using an Ikea Fredrik desk and it's worked quite well. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60111123/ [ikea.com] I also picked up one of those anti-fatigue mats at Home Depot. It was too painful without it.
Other developers here at the office are now planning to transition as well too. I'd encourage anybody to give it a shot. If you can make it past the first week or two of leg and foot pain you should be fine. It's not that bad and the benefits are worth it.
focus on one activity at a time (Score:2, Insightful)