For greater than a decade, I’ve prided myself on being a work-from-home veteran. I’m not a kind of newcomers thrust into the world of distant work by a worldwide pandemic, awkwardly balancing a laptop computer on the ironing board or changing the spare room right into a sterile workplace.
No, I’ve been working from residence lengthy sufficient to see tendencies come and go, to witness the rise and fall of the “work from the couch” motion and the inevitable return of some folks to bodily places of work, weary of the isolation. By way of all of it, I stayed resolute in my setup—a sturdy desk, a very good chair, and, let’s be trustworthy, far too many snacks inside arm’s attain.
However the winds of change are relentless, and it appears not even I may resist them eternally. So right here I’m, in spite of everything these years, writing to you from a standing desk, perched elegantly like a modern-day work martyr, my ft gliding alongside on a strolling treadmill beneath me. The very thought of it a couple of years in the past would have had me rolling my eyes. Standing desks and strolling treadmills? What are we, lab rats? However after working from residence for thus lengthy, there got here a degree when even probably the most seasoned distant employee needed to admit: issues wanted to alter.
I suppose all of it started with the nagging aches that began creeping into my physique, those I had lengthy chosen to disregard. I’m no stranger to stubbornness—who’s after working from residence for so long as I’ve? There’s a sure satisfaction, or maybe delusion, that comes with having your private home workplace locked down simply the best way you prefer it.
However whereas I had embraced the liberty, my physique had quietly declared a riot. The infinite sitting—generally for hours at a stretch—had performed me no favours. Let’s not mince phrases: years of sitting glued to a display screen in the identical chair can do unspeakable issues to your posture, your again, and your waistline. And because the days changed into years, these small aches changed into a low hum that adopted me round, till at some point I realised, effectively I do flip fifty subsequent 12 months, I wasn’t a sprightly younger factor anymore however relatively somebody who now grimaced each time they bought up from their desk.
Enter the standing desk
The one which caught my eye was the FlexiSpot E7 Professional, a relatively glossy piece of equipment that promised to resolve all my woes and I’ve not appeared again. Adjustable on the push of a button, sturdy as a tank, and with sufficient room to carry my array of notebooks, espresso cups, podcasting microphone, GoPro digicam and all the opposite accompanying tech to ship the weekly Every thing EV podcast for EV Powered for our 100,00 plus listeners. I favored the concept of having the ability to change my place all through the day—up after I wanted to focus, down after I wanted to chill out (or, you recognize, learn the information and fake it’s analysis).
Standing, I’ve to confess, felt revolutionary. After years of slumping in my chair, albeit a complicated Herman Miller Aeron from the times once we had our bodily workplace at Canary Wharf that I trudged to daily. Right here I used to be, upright, alert, feeling as if I had unlocked some form of productiveness superpower. I discovered myself shifting extra naturally, shifting my weight, stretching, and even feeling just a little extra engaged with what was taking place on the display screen in entrance of me. My legs stopped feeling so stressed, and, dare I say, my again even began feeling higher. It’s a easy change, actually, however one which has made a exceptional distinction to how I method my workday. Now not do I really feel as if I’m caught in a single spot for hours on finish, slowly fusing to the chair like some form of workplace furnishings chimera.
In fact, standing alone wasn’t sufficient to utterly shake up my routine. If I used to be going to go full wellness guru, I figured I’d as effectively go all the best way and spend money on a strolling treadmill. Sure, that’s proper, I turned a kind of folks—those who kind away whereas strolling at a sluggish, regular tempo like a hamster on a wheel. At first, it appeared ridiculous, the form of factor I’d have mocked over a cheeky g’n’t with pals pre-pandemic. However as my treadmill hums quietly beneath me, I’ve to confess that the novelty of it light shortly, changed by an actual sense of goal.
There’s one thing nearly meditative about it, the mild rhythm of the belt beneath your ft as you go about your day. Now not do I really feel like my physique is being held hostage by my desk. As a substitute, I’m in movement, always, even when it’s solely at a modest tempo – round 6mph is my common. It’s not about breaking a sweat (though that might come in useful throughout a very demanding deadline). It’s about shifting, retaining the blood flowing, and never succumbing to the aches and lethargy that may so simply take maintain throughout these lengthy, stationary days.
It hasn’t reworked my life right into a montage of health journal perfection, nevertheless it’s a delicate shift that has made me really feel higher, extra energised, and admittedly, a bit smug about my setup. After years of believing I had all the things excellent, I’m realising that maybe it’s not about locking into a technique of working eternally. Change is nice, even for us outdated distant work canines. And who is aware of, perhaps in a couple of years I’ll be writing one other piece extolling the virtues of some new gadget that I swore I’d by no means undertake.
For now, although, I’ll simply be right here—standing tall and taking all of it in stride. Actually.
