We keep talking about the advantages of standing at work by using an adjustable height standing desk. “Get on your feet with a standing desk to protect your heart and relieve all kinds of aches and pains,” we say. Some people worry that standing will interrupt their ability to do work, but when you look at the most common tasks people complete every day, it’s clear that standing doesn’t get in the way. So here are a few suggestions of common work activities that you can do while standing and at the same time still be 100% as efficient as you would be sitting.
You can:
- Read and respond to emails;
- Read research articles and data for your next meeting;
- Peruse and correct Powerpoint;
- Run a statistical analysis model;
- Sit in on a call;
- Chat with friends;
- Read the news during your break;
- Watch a video of a presentation; and
- Call clients
Those are pretty obvious because they all involve the computer or the phone. Whenever you are going to be interacting with one tool and reading something, it makes sense that you could do it just as well standing. But there are some less obvious tasks you can do at work while standing:
- Fill in your planner or schedule
- Hand-edit or annotate anything printed on paper
- Highlight a script to give people their cues
- Address and stamp envelopes
- Sort papers and mail
These are the kinds of tasks people think require a lot of movement and access to space, and for some reason this means they think such tasks must be performed while sitting down in order to be more efficient. But writing and sorting are just as easy to do standing as sitting, and perhaps easier if you have multiple stacks of papers that require you to reach across the desk.
This list is long and suggests a number of similar activities, and for most people they will take up the majority of the day, meaning many could actually do nearly all their work standing. And if you’re standing at your standing desk for 75% of your day, you’re already winning and getting these benefits. But there are a few activities that might be easier or more efficient sitting down such as:
- Scratching your feet
- Picking your pencil up off the floor
- Reaching the outlet to unplug your mobile phone charger
- Getting papers out of the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet
- Plugging your headphone into the back of your computer tower if it’s on the floor
- Claiming the “five-second rule” on the cracker you dropped
In all seriousness, the only arguably legitimate reason a person would benefit from sitting at work instead of standing is because they need to rest their legs. And sitting down when you are tired does feel good. But the point is that you can and should spend more time standing at work, whether you have a height adjustable standing desk or not. Look for work situations where you can just stand up, and maybe pace around your office, like while you’re on hold and have the phone on speaker. Until you get the right MultiTable standing desk set up, this is the best solution. Your body will thank you in a few years.
