Holier than thou

Yes, I have a standup desk at work. I am up to about 2 - 2 1/2 hours of working standing, which is really about all the time I have outside meetings in my current job.

According to this (pretty darned funny) New Yorker piece by Tom O'Donnell, you should have a standup desk too.

According to an important WebMD article that my friend Tony described to me, every minute you spend sitting shaves several years off your life.

Fact: the average person sits for more than nineteen hours a day.

Fact: sitting for long stretches interferes with your body’s production of an enzyme called L.P.L., which you need or something.

Fact: even regular exercise isn’t enough to counteract the damage from all this sitting, meaning that regular exercise is stupid and pointless. (I don’t exercise.)

Fact: if you were to remain seated for the amount of time it takes to read this article, you would develop Type 2 diabetes long before reaching the end.

Indeed, sitting has been called the new smoking. The only difference is that smoking looks cool and is a great way to meet people and isn’t actually that bad for you. (I smoke.) Sitting, on the other hand, looks ridiculous and shameful—like you’re afraid to admit exactly how tall you are—and is terrible for you. The human body simply wasn’t meant to be folded up for long stretches, like a sad pretzel. It was meant to be held ramrod-straight at all times, like a noble pretzel stick.

I was once a standing-desk skeptic, too. But, after I made the switch four days ago, I could immediately sense a difference in how I felt: way more self-righteous.

OK, so I quit smoking (mostly) many years ago. It was tough. And now I have to quit sitting as well in order not to look morally suspect? And red meat? And alcohol too, I suppose. No more sugar, catsup, or soda pop. Swearing? Ole and Lena jokes? No more "pull my finger" with the grandsons.

In an effort to become healthy and polite life gets pretty damn boring as well. I wish our culture would do a better job of separating bad health choices from moral failings.

Comments

[Len Bryan]

Hey! We are getting the same setup at the State Library! Of course, since it is the State, it will arrive just in time for me to retire (I'm 40). On a more serious note, I have noticed that since I moved from the campus library I have become much more sedentary, both at work and at home. I'm looking forward to having the option to stand at my desk. The smug, superior attitude is just a bonus!

[Tim Stahmer]

Very extravagant. I work for cheapskates and had to settle for the $22 Ikea hack. :-)

I've been using a standing desk for almost three years and love it. Now I even have trouble sitting for long periods at meetings and drive people crazy by cruising the back of the room. If I could just quit the soda, I could live forever.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Len,

Good to hear from you.

I think will actually like the standing desk eventually. I've always had problems with the whole delayed gratification thing so it is only slowly dawning on me that I feel better because of standing. And if you job is like mine, you can still do plenty of sitting at meetings!

Have a good one,

Doug​

Hi Tim,

Had the standing desk not already been in place, being the cheapskate I am, I'd have gone the IKEA route as well. One thing I like about the "professional" model is that you can move it up and down so you can work both standing or sitting and it accommodates dual​ monitors. It may be a few decades before they $800 in additional productivity out of me to repay the cost, though.

Doug​