
My "Working While Standing" Hack - bearwithclaws
http://chengsoon.com/2011/09/14/my_working_while_standing_hack.html
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adaml_623
Yeah I'm sorry but you can't argue with science.

"Sitting for more than 1 hour has been shown to induce biochemical changes ...
leads to the deposit of fats in adipose tissue rather than these being
metabolized by muscle, ... heart disease risks". Read the original article for
details.

Apparently we have a tradeoff between staying in "flow" and staying healthy.
Since that seems to be the choice at the moment then I'll move every half an
hour and worry about my productivity using other hacks.

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KirinDave
Or you could just get good at keeping flow while not staring right at your
code.

I know I'm not the only person who occasionally likes to get up and walk
around as I chew through a problem in my head. Surely this doesn't constitute
a break in "flow".

~~~
alnayyir
>get up and walk around as I chew through a problem in my head. Surely this
doesn't constitute a break in "flow".

I'm afraid it most certainly does for myself and other programmers I know. My
"walking around and contemplating" is a completely different mental state than
flow for me, and flow produces an entirely different league of results above
and beyond any other mode of working I've been in.

If I could discipline, harness, and achieve flow more quickly (like the people
who teach themselves to dream lucidly) I would be a much better programmer.

As it is, I'm currently contemplating how to cope with the apparent health
risks of sitting all day vs. achieving flow.

Going even a week without flow tends to depress me, I doubt I could make
disrupting my work multiple times daily a regular part of my habits.

~~~
nowarninglabel
Wireless headphones. The quality isn't as good, but they do wonders for
allowing me to get up and move, whilst staying in the flow. Might want to give
it a try.

~~~
erikcw
I picked up an OfficeRunner [<http://www.officerunner.com/>] headset last
year. I spend 4+ hours a day on skype calls -- the ability to step away from
my desk has been priceless. I originally looked for an app for my iPhone that
would function as a wireless headset. There are one or two in the app store,
but they all have latency issues...

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Michielvv
I have to disagree on taking a break every 20 to 30 minutes being in conflict
with getting into flow. If I apply the Pomodoro method and set a fixed time
for the break to start, I found that for me it's actually quite easy to get
back onto the problem after the short break.

What I think makes the difference is that forcing the break, although annoying
at first, makes you take the break when things are going well, resulting in
eagerness to continue solving the problem after the break. While, if you take
a break when you feel you need one, things are probably already stuck and it's
harder to start up again.

I do agree with getting away from the computer for a proper break every few
hours, but isn't that quite natural already? I can't go without
eating/drinking for much longer than that anyway.

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jfoucher
Dancing definitely makes it easier on the legs and feet, as you're not stuck
in the same static position all day. Alternatively contracting and relaxing
the calf is necessary to achieve return blood flow up the leg. If you stand
without moving, you are at risk of varicose veins and such things, but this
effect is much reduced if you are dancing at the same time. Plus, it's loads
of fun!

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bryanlarsen
I like his last comment: "dance". I'm glad I work from home, because if I'm
standing at work and a great dance tune comes through my mix (currently Basie
doing Shiny Stockings) I can't stand still.

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tzs
Some have suggested that using any kind of timer to remind them to get up and
walk around will interrupt the flow, and if they don't have a reminder they
will not get up often enough.

For those who like to listen to music while coding, you can use your music to
help with this. Simply queue up ~30 minutes worth of songs, and then get to
work. When the music ends that probably won't be enough of a distraction to
pull you out of the flow, but realizing will slowly bubble its way to the
surface that the music has stopped.

When that happens, you can put on another ~30 minutes of music after taking
your walk-around break. Repeat.

I find that this doesn't disrupt flow, because the "time to change music"
event is not an interrupt. I think being in the flow is a lot like sleep in
that it goes through cycles much like the sleep stages, and you become aware
of the music having stopped at a stage in the flow where it is easy to stop
and restart.

BTW, music also makes a great way to keep track of time for billing. Back in
our consulting days at work, I'd keep track of how much time was spent for
each client by what CDs I listened to while working on that client's project.

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colinhowe
I do a similar thing. I also have a variety of objects under my desk at
different heights so I can rest my feet in different positions and do whatever
feels comfortable.

My desk isn't adjustable (atm) and one of the biggest (but unexpected)
benefits of standing at my desk is that it tires me. After two hours or so I
am forced to go have a sit down _away_ from my computer. This helps my
productivity more than trying to take regular breaks when sitting as I find it
harder to waste the time browsing the internet or simply skip a break.

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kilian
Nice list, though I'm not sure if longer breaks and longer periods of sitting
are as good as more frequent breaks. The last suggestion, dancing, is a very
good one (And one I should do more). There is one thing that's even better
then sitting _and_ standing, and that's moving (hence the treadmill-inder-desk
phenomenon) so if you don't have a treadmill, dancing is a good second ;)

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Kell
<http://gregschlom.com/post/4555981908/standing-desk>

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baggachipz
Geekdesk FTW. I stand almost all day now, it's great.

