New Ergonomic Setup

For the last six months I've been using a laptop on a kitchen table as my primary computer.  I did hook in a monitor, keyboard and mouse but it was less than ideal especially for doing long projects so I decided to upgrade my set up.
I've used sit-stand desks before. I had a Varidesk that I bought at NVIDIA which I really liked.  My personal habit is to stand for light tasks but sit for anything that needs a lot of concentration so I need to be comfortable in either position and to be able to switch instantly. 

​Here's the set up I came up with:

The Chair

I got a cheap task chair from Amazon.  It's nothing flashy.  But I did some upgrades.  The last chair I bought was expensive and wasn't really tall enough for me (I'm 6'2").  I realized that I could make it taller by adding a longer gas strut, but because it was a really complex chair with lots of cable operated adjustments removing the seat pan was a big job, so I just replaced the wheels with roller blade wheels. This made the chair instantly an inch taller while reducing wear on my floor.
For my new chair I bought a longer gas strut and roller blade wheels before even assembling it.  Removing a gas strut from a chair as shown here requires use of a hammer and some brute force, so it's much easier to start with a new chair. 

| feel the need, the need for speed, also.. I want my chair to be higher.

A 9" Strut adds about 2 inches to the overall height of the chair.

The struts and wheels are easily available on Amazon or anywhere that sells office furniture. ​ The struts seem to be a standard size, but the wheels come with several different mounting sizes so make sure you get the right ones.  I paid £16 for the wheels and £13 for the gas strut.  The basic chair was £46.   So that's about 75 pounds for a chair that actually fits me. 
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Standing Desk

Back in my NVIDIA days I bought a Varidesk to see if I liked a sit stand arrangement.  As I was paying for it myself I didn't want to spend too much money only to find it was a gimmick I didn't like, however I did find that I used it quite a bit.  I'd say in a typical office day I would stand about 25% of the time.  I found that doing emails and powerpoints was good standing up, but anything like coding or 3D modelling required me to sit down.  When I got the Varidesk it was almost the only game in town but now there are dozens of different yet similar desks available.  I got the Duronic DM05D17.  It moves up and down vertically, where as the Varidesk had more of a cantilever operation.  I think the Varidesk used springs and the Duronic uses a gas strut, but apart from that they are very similar.  One thing to be aware is that this product doesn't come with the monitor stand as shown in the product image.  For good posture you really want your monitor at the right height...   The desk was £110. Bargain. 

Monitor mount

 I like my monitor mounted high as this forces me to sit upright rather than slumping.  I've used all manner of hacks in the past including manuals, books, a bin and even a tupperware container meant for a cake.  A check  on Amazon showed that you can get proper mounts for not much money these days, so I lashed out on a Von Haus single arm bracket.  For £20 how could I not?  Fitting the monitor mount to the rising desk was a bit of a hassle.  The clamp on the mount was much wider than I needed and as a result the tightening knob was preventing the desk from hitting its lowest point.  My solution was to cut the threaded rod down and add a couple of nuts, then tighten the nuts to secure the arm.  The arm itself works fine with decent articulation where you'd expect and very little wobble. 

Other Stuff

I found a neat little countdown timer extension for Chrome.  I set to 45 minutes so that I remember to take a break regularly.  I also got new glasses.  I seem to be at that age where my eyes get worse all the time.  Sucks, but being able to see with glasses is better than not being able to see. 
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Last Thoughts

++I'm no ergonomics expert legal disclaimer goes here!! ++
If your back hurts or your eyes or your pee pee, go see a doctor!

It's definitely nice to have a comfy set up.  Its also nice that it didn't break the bank. I was working on a project last week for just a couple of days and could really feel the negative effects on my back.   Hopefully this new setup will let me work for longer with fewer negative impacts.