Most standing-desk advice gives up by week two. Here's the schedule we use across our office, written down so we don't forget.
Stand for two 45-minute blocks per day, not all day. Set memory presets so you can switch in one button. Get a mat. Drink water. The routine that fails is the one with no friction reduction — make it easier to stand than to sit.
The first failure mode of a standing desk is the friction of getting the height right. Most desks have four memory presets. Use all of them.
Stand at the desk in the shoes you'll actually wear. Your elbows should rest at ~90°, wrists straight, monitor at eye level. Mark that height as Preset 1 ("stand"). Sit in your chair — same arm position — and save Preset 2 ("sit"). The other two are for guests or a second monitor setup.
If you keep fiddling with the height, you'll stop standing. The whole point of the presets is that you don't think about the desk — you press one button and start typing.
Standing for eight hours is worse for your back than sitting for eight. The goal is movement and posture variety, not endurance. Two 45-minute blocks is the right shape for most people; if you're new, start with one.
Anchor the blocks to something on your calendar. Stand for the morning standup, sit for deep work, stand again after lunch.
This is the single piece of gear that will determine whether you keep standing past week three. A bare floor is too hard; you'll fidget, you'll stop standing, the desk will collect dust.
You don't need the $200 mat. The $40 one we tested is 95% as good. The thing that matters is shape — pick one with a slight curve or a contour, not a flat slab.
This isn't really about water — it's about creating a tiny, predictable break that takes you away from the screen. You'll drink more water, walk to the kitchen, look out a window. All of it is good for the part of your back that the desk can't help with.
Coffee counts. Tea counts. Whatever you'd refill.
The routine fails for predictable reasons: the desk wobbles, the mat slid out of place, the cable management didn't survive the last height change. None of these are willpower problems. Fix the friction and the standing comes back on its own.
Re-do step 01. Sometimes the answer is that you bought new shoes, or moved the desk an inch. Re-measure and save the new preset.
Three small things that together make the difference between “I bought a standing desk” and “I use a standing desk.”