Two weeks ago, I saw a link in a tweet from Katy Bowman (@alignedandwell) about standing desks and I decided to try it out for the afternoon. It felt so good that I’ve been standing to work ever since.

I’m a writer, and I do the books for my husband’s company, so I generally spend a lot of time sitting around. I have an ergonomic chair, and I take frequent stretch breaks, but it’s really not enough. After a day of sitting, I feel compacted, jammed together and generally weary, in body and mind. I have done all manner of things to try and perk myself up and break the sluggish feeling at the end of the day (presuming I haven’t interrupted myself multiple times in my efforts to stay alert), but nothing really helped.

Now that I’ve spent the past two week standing up at my desk (with everything elevated to somewhat proper heights) to work, I don’t think I will ever go back. Not only do I feel more alert, and more energetic but I get more things done and I don’t feel brain-heavy at the end of the day. And I’ve been more inclined to do a few exercises here and there, to stretch more, and to wander around my office while thinking.  The only thing I miss is being able to lean back in my chair to stare at the ceiling while daydreaming the next point in my story – but if I want to do that, I can always go into a different room.

I expected that I would find it hard on my feet and my legs, but I can honestly say it hasn’t been tiring at all. I put a yoga mat in front of my desk to help with potential fatigue, and I am naturally shifting position on a regular basis so I am not getting tired from standing in one spot. It’s damn good.

It’s been great for writing my novel, for doing the accounting (getting the paperwork high enough to work from was a challenge, but I managed), and for my writing work. I feel much more positive about my workload and about my work day, and standing to write makes it feel more immediate and more necessary (I don’t know why, but it does).

On top of the immediate effects, it feels good to know that I am making a positive step for my health (even if that step is very small).

Now I’m looking into getting a treadmill desk sometime next year.