How to Turn Your Sitting Desk Into a Standing Desk for Under Fifty Bucks

I’ve been reading a lot about how bad too much sitting can be for one’s health. And for my work, I sit a lot. I mean a lot. Video editing, social media consulting, animation, voiceover… All sitting at my desk. And my 42-year-old body is starting to feel the effects.

Welp, this week, I had enough. I decided to look into something else I’d been hearing a lot about lately: Standing Desks. It’s basically a desk that’s tall enough for you to work at while standing up. It promotes good spine health, you burn a few extra calories than when you’re sitting, and an added bonus: I’ve found that when doing voiceover, your voice is a bit stronger when you’re standing, too.

So, the research began. But I found that buying a desk is a lot like buying a grill. The inexpensive ones are cheaply made, and the well-made ones are way more than what I’d consider “affordable.” Luckily, I have a home office which almost no one else has the displeasure of having to visit, so appearance wasn’t a factor. Thus, my decision to create, rather than purchase. Here’s what I came up with:

It consists of two cardboard banker’s boxes ($20 for four) and an interior door from the local hardware supply store ($23), cut to the size of my regular desk. I had to lay the boxes on their sides to get the 15-inch height increase I need, but it’s still plenty sturdy. The best part of the construction is that it rests directly on top of my “sitting” desk, and it’s just cardboard, so it won’t mar the wood surface. The build even allows a little extra storage space on the “lower deck.”

I’m proud to say I’m writing this post while standing up, and my hips and low back are already not as “tweaky” from sitting. I’m sure it will be a help to me physically, which I’m sure will mean I’ll be more engaged mentally.

Better productivity, better work, better business all around, right?

If you’ve used a standing desk in the past, or if you start using one, let me know in the comments how you make out.

Good luck!

(By the way, thanks to the guys at DeskHacks for finally getting me off my ass (literally) and started on this)