Shovel Butt

There are few things I hate more than a shovel butt. I have a small derrière, but at least it's round-ish. At least, it always was, until I stopped working on my feet and started sitting at a desk for 8-10 hours each day. Over the course of two short years, my bum has become rather flat, a symptom of "Secretary Butt"...BOO.

I've taken decisive and immediate action to prevent this from getting worse. I'm still young, my bum should be up, not flat! And when I'm old, it should still be up! (We'll see how that goes.) I rigged myself a standing desk, with the help of some of my wonderful coworkers, who gave me grief at first, but then began to give it a try themselves. The thing is, sitting is the new norm; whereas standing or walking should be our default action, and sitting should be in-between. The average office worker spends almost six hours each day sitting (and that's just during the work day)! To some, sitting is the new smoking, and being on your bum for that many hours, day after day, year after year, has been linked to diseases like diabetes and cancer, not to mention that quite a few office workers are overweight. Do you think it could be linked to, I don't know, not moving?

I have noticed some good and bad consequences to my new work style.
First with the bad:
It took quite a while to rig something that was ergonomically correct, considering I wear heels almost every day. I'm sure I did some damage to my neck and wrists in those first couple weeks where I was slouching to try to get the perfect angle.
For the first two weeks, every single person who walked by my office stopped to ask if I was working standing up. Some were impressed, most think I'm a weirdo, and a couple feel the need to remind me that it's weird every so often, as if my standing is somehow offensive to their choice to sit.
I can't move my monitors around like I once did, so when people come into my office and we try to look at the same thing, they are also forced to stand. This doesn't really affect me often, but it makes for tricksier training.

Here's what I've noticed that's great about standing vs. sitting:
My hips don't hurt like they did when I was sitting all day, and my lower back doesn't hurt at all anymore. HUGE bonus points!
I can't remember the last time I had a "2 o'clock slump". I have energy all day, and my productivity has gone up. I sound more energized on the phone, and even my emails have more personality.
I get to move and dance when a good song comes on. I listen to Pandora all day, and before, it was just background noise to help keep me alert. Now, I'm more engaged in everything I do, and when a great tune comes on, I can't help but bounce around! (As long as my office door is closed, lol.)
In addition to making standing my new sitting, I've also made it a habit to take the stairs up to my fifth floor office, and occasionally, take a stroll at lunch around the lake. Although, since Dawn left, I haven't had the gumption or time to walk around the lake at all...sigh.

I love how the simplest adjustments in your day-to-day can make such an impact. It can be positive or negative, but it's up to each of us to create the change, and make it into a habit. What a powerful feeling!