I’m more than a little bit manic about the efficiency of my work space. I’m re-designing the layout to optimize for productivity and happiness: two giant monitors, soft filament lightening, etc. But I have always hated sitting. When I worked at Bloomberg we had those ultra-fancy Aeron chairs, the height desk jockey ergonomics, and I still found myself shifting around like an antsy 3rd-grader who has to pee. Just couldn’t get comfortable. I read the NY Times article about how sitting causes a myriad of negative health effects and began to wonder about a stand-up desk. I was inspired by this post showing all the desk setups for the folks at 37signals, but really wasn’t willing to shell out the $400+ for some of the cool standing solutions I saw. Finally, after reading David Teten of ff Ventures’ compelling case for a healthy workplace, by way of Tim Ferriss’ blog, I set off to Staples, Ace and Home Depot to try to find some dirt cheap solution to try out a standing desk. Whether through lack of craftiness or just being too cheap, I failed completely. But after surveying our apartment for some kind of way to hack a standing desk together, I stumbled upon this cheap and simple solution.

It consists of a bracketed accessory intended for the back of a desk that I picked up at IKEA months ago for ~$20 and had lying around (doesn’t appear to be online but should be in the office section), an unused subwoofer and a stack of thick books. That’s it! So far I’m loving it. With ample space to walk around and think I find I keep a much clearer head, I’m more comfortable during the day and less achey at the end. Mid-day runs haven’t been the slightest bit impeded book-ended by 4 hours of standing and with space for push-ups and a mounted hang board nearby, I find it super easy to do little bits of exercise throughout the day.

What do you do to keep your workspace happier or healthier?