Inspired by Mike’s post Why Sitting is Killing You, this week I’ve been experimenting with my own version of a standing desk. Since giving up my downstairs office for a teenage bedroom, and truth be told, long before then, I’ve all but abandoned using my desk, so I figured it was probably a good time to try something different.

I most prefer working in rooms that have good natural light, so I scoped out the kitchen for possible options. After a quick inspection, I decided to try the top of the microwave, normally tucked under the corner of the dish cabinet. I pulled it out and went to work. The newly acquired height placed the screen at eye level, perfect for reading online.

Not so perfect for anything that required more than a tiny bit of keyboarding. I found myself having to stand on my tip toes to lift my arms above the keyboard. After a while, I retreated to a favored chair in the upstairs Living Room.

This morning I wanted to try something more at arm’s reach. Once again I stood at the counter, this time trying to imagine the perfect keyboarding height. With that in mind, I went in search of something to build a small tower. I was unsuccessful at finding the Amazon box that arrived the other day, but I was undeterred.

What could I use for my own version of a standing desk?

Aha!

My newly constructed, portable standing desk is not much to look at, but it’s certainly affordable and nearly the perfect height for a morning of keyboarding. This option, however, presents the opposite problem of my microwave standing desk.

Now the keyboard is at optimal height, but the screen isn’t. Fortunately, I can type fairly accurately without looking at the keyboard, so when I’m simply typing, I can enjoy watching a flurry of cardinals feast on the berries outside the kitchen window. And use psellcheck spellcheck.

I suppose if you had a traditional computer with separate monitor and keyboard, a standing desk like this might give you the option to elevate the monitor and keep the keyboard at arm’s length.

Maybe one day, we’ll invest in a more permanent “real” solution. For now, I’m content to switch my laptop back and forth, between microwave and stock pot. Or is it stockpot? Spellcheck didn’t catch that.

What about you?
What creative things are you doing in your workspace? In your home? Or both?