Several weeks ago I took part in a Twitter conversation that stayed in my mind. It was about standing desks, and their usefulness in back health and preventing – let’s just call it ‘writers’ spread’… I had a closer look at one last week, and then investigated prices. They’re not cheap, and the thrifty Scot in me didn’t want to fork out several hundred Swiss franks just on a whim.

Try before you buy seemed a good adage here. So I had a go myself – and here’s how you do it:

1. First of all give your desk a good tidy and then dust it. (You can skip this bit at home, but I was going to be taking photos and I didn’t want them to be embarrassing.) Note the view of the woods in the background; that’s why my desk is still in the bedroom.

2. Collect a couple of good-sized cartons or boxes. As we have a removal just behind us I was spoiled for choice here. (Yes, those are still-un-hung pictures in the background. I’ll get there someday…)

3. Choose a box that’s the right height for your keyboard. I have a separate keyboard, with the laptop raised behind it.

4. Do the same for your monitor/laptop.

5. Decide a) the laptop isn’t quite high enough and add another box, and b) you need another at the front too for the mouse. Finished!

6. …unless you want the super-de-luxe version. For this you’ll need something like a ball cushion to stand on, to make sure you’re constantly adjusting your posture.

Joking apart, I’ve been using this – both with and without the ball cushion – for 24 hours now, and I’m really surprised how comfortable it is. So I’ll continue with my home-made one for a week or two, and if I still like it I’ll get our friendly local joiner to make me a more permanent version. Watch this space!

PS A couple of weeks later – here’s the new desk!

My lovely woods in 37°C… but we’re not complaining, we’ve waited a while for a nice hot summer! 🙂