It seems crazy to me that it’s been FIVE YEARS since I last blogged about my Standing Desk setup, and boy a LOT has changed!! During those years, I moved several times, but my Ikea standing desk stuck with me.
Out With The Old
This month marks a big career change for me so I decided it was finally time to retire my Ikea setup. It is sturdy and solid enough but its biggest drawback is that it is not really convertible between sitting & standing. Technically you could change it up with the pegs and trestle legs, but that’s very impractical given how much heavy hardware “permanently” lives on the desk to begin with.
So What Did You Want?
My new office space is a smaller converted attic room, which presented some limiting factors – the primary being desk width because of where I can place a standing desk with my sloped ceilings. This limited to me to setups around 40 inches wide. Because of another storage dresser, I had to overlap my window but I don’t mind. I also wanted to treat myself to a real wood desktop vs the cheap corrugated Ikea top I’ve had since the beginning.
What’d You Wind Up Buying?
After a ton of research, I wound up selecting Uplift. Went with a walnut butcher block top, C-frame, and decided to be a bit different with their “industrial” finish. I enjoyed having a monitor shelf, so added that option as well. The biggest drawback to my old setup was that I lost desktop space to my keyboard & mouse, so I also opted for an under-desk keyboard tray.
And here’s the final product! I kept my Vivo laptop stand, added some cheap LED under-cabinet kitchen lighting that we had leftover from our last place, and picked up a set of Cyber Acoustics CA-SP34BT 2.1 speakers for music.
What’s That Underneath Your Desk?
But it’s what’s underneath my desk that’s noteworthy. I’d been using an Ergodriven Topo mat for years and think it’s great. But I wanted something more. A few years ago, I’d learned of under-desk elipticals for sitting desks and began to wonder if there were now specialized treadmills that’d fit under a standing desk.
A quick bit of research yielded a number of results that seemed like fairly cheap Chinese treadmills. If I wanted solid quality, I’d be looking at spending at least $800 if not more. One key detail about an under-desk treadmill is that its not meant for hardcore running. I also wanted something “portable” enough to move out of the way, which is why I did not look for a traditional running treadmill.
In the end, I opted to go with a lower-end treadmill. I’m optimistic that I can get into a habit of using it regularly, especially while on webcasts or doing lesser intensive tasks like reading, e-mail “chores,” etc. And if it winds up like other home exercise equipment often does (as a clothes hanger), then I won’t feel as bad if I had burned cash for a higher end model.
Was It Worth It?
My setup has been operational for a few days now and I’m pleased to share that I’ve already gotten good use out of the treadmill. Ran it for during a few meetings in my last workweek, and I after a while, I didn’t notice the treadmill at all. I’m only walking between 0.8MPH and 1.4MPH at this point, to get used to walking while doing stuff. Don’t expect to get much faster than that but I’m okay with that. As long as this thing keeps me moving for an extended period of time AND I can ingrain its use as a daily habit, I’ll call it a win.
Every Byte Counts 