The Stands of Time

In a rut? Not active enough? Gazing into the mirror at someone resembling Yertle the Turtle 🪞=🐢?

➡️Consider ditching your sitting desk for a Standing Desk!

Amazon lists 14 categories and 48 pages of product, from simple Stands (more on this type later) with a small footprint to Portable Table Top units and beyond. Spend as little as $25 or more than $1,350.

➡️ What are the health benefits? Instead of sitting, slouching, leaning, etc. in a desk chair while you read, write or surf the Net, you do your thing while standing. The key change is to raise your computer screen high enough so that your eyes are level with nearly the top of your monitor or laptop screen while standing. Do this and stronger legs and a better posture will soon follow.

➡️How do I know this? See the attached photo of my almost entirely homemade setup.

 ➡️Who can do this? Anyone. Proof? Me. Eisenhower was in his second term the day I was born, and I had three knee surgeries and have wafer-thin discs in my back . If can do it, I bet you can too. Take it slowly, maybe an hour a day at first, and you'll be able to break away from sitting. These days I can go several hours standing without a break.

➡️Why did I make the change? After spending two months solid in late 2023 promoting the launch of my novel Float the Boat, it was time to begin serious work on the sequel. I wanted to take a fresh approach to many things, including the physical aspect of how I wrote. After going online and getting surprised by what's available, I took the cheapskate route and dropped $15 on a basic adjustable Stand. Then, with the help of my genius wife, we cobbled together a bunch of things around the house to make my Standing Desk. Voila! My design matches my preferences: inexpensive, small footprint, cool! It still leaves me more than half the desk space (which is not large at 25" x 48"). The best part is I found a better home for my Balinese nameplate, a goodbye gift from a someone I worked with in the Pulau Galang Refugee Camp. Gazing at it reminds me of the time I spent there and how the experience influenced my first book.

➡️Any benefits related to writing? Three come to mind. First, I no longer waste time leaning back, squirming in my chair or pulling my hair with my elbows on the desktop whenever I hit an obstacle. Next, I feel closer to the pulse of the story I'm creating. You may think I'm kidding myself. That's OK. But part of the struggle of writing is mental and I'll take it as a win! Lastly, I take more frequent breaks than with a sitting desk, which also makes me more productive and active.

If you decide to make the change, write to me and tell me your experience.