I am not sure what we were doing, but the Wife and I were reminiscing about the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” theme song. There is a part in there about “my life got flip turned upside down.” These days, that is kind of what things feel like. As an elementary teacher, my typical day was a whirlwind of moving from one spot to another, standing to kneeling, and not much time for sitting still. In fact, a few years ago, I completely got rid of my teacher desk. It was just taking up space in the room. In March, my work life went from the constant movement to a life of sitting at my computer preparing work for “distance learning”, and my body didn’t like it.

To begin with, I don’t sit still well. Even when things were “normal,” I was not great at staying in one place for too long. Spring is usually especially busy with teaching and coaching high school baseball. This year, all of that has come to an abrupt halt. Teaching from home and no baseball season has left me sitting in once place for way more time than I care to. All of this sitting started taking its toll on my body, mainly my neck.

I realized very quickly that a desk job is not for me. Sitting all day at a computer had left my neck with a twinge right where it meets my shoulders. I would try to stretch and stretch, but I could not get that pesky twinge to go away. Hanging from a pull-up bar to pop it worked a little, but that didn’t last long. I held way too much in my hunched up shoulders as I sat at a computer. I needed a solution seeing as this distance learning thing was not going away. Time to rig up a standing desk.

Out came a wooden TV tray, my son’s old locker stand, a basket, and a whiteboard. When stacked, they measure just the right height for me to stand at and reach my computer. No strain on the shoulders. No twinge in the neck. The past few weeks have been a much more comfortable time with my job.

There are many health benefits from standing instead of sitting. I do like the idea of all of the health benefits. For me, it really just came down to necessity. There is no way I could have kept up with my work while dealing with the constant discomfort of my neck. Buying a standing desk would have been expensive and taken time to get here. My makeshift desk is a bit wobbly, but it works. I can just add it to my list of things I DIY instead of buy. It has really helped keep my work life from being flipped unbearably upside down. Speaking from experience.