I stand up when I code.  

(Standup update has updated pics of the desk I'm using for standing now)

I read this article in the NY Times about the effect that constant sitting for work has on the modern worker.  All of our "at the computer keyboard" time, thought work, programming, analysis, writing, etc. is killing us.  And that's happening even to the active among us, those who actually find time to go exercise before and after work.  They still die younger than those who don't live at a desk.

So, as I stepped back into a coding role (software developer here) I knew I didn't want to spend 8+ hours each day sitting in a chair.

More specifically, my own physiology has been changing and I'd feel it at the end of the day.  In my hips, knees and back, I'd have pains after sitting all day writing software.

For me, then, the answer was to stand UP!

Stuff

At home, this just meant setting my laptop on a box or anything else convenient and stable

Once starting at Dark Horse Comics in the Fall (2010), I mentioned that it's something I'd like to do, and "could you help me with this"? I'm really grateful that Marty Carter here found me an Anthro Cart that had been abandoned and was in storage.  That's the two-level desk you see to the left in the picture.  I just put my monitor on a big box (filled with packing peanuts for stability). I use the Bluetooth keyboard and trackpad so i can easily shift to sitting mode.  Takes less than 2 minutes to slide over to sitting down.

In Action

What I can't easily show is how it feels.

I actually move almost all the time.  Programming isn't primarily typing.  It's reading thinking (a lot!) and then typing before observing the outcome (tests run, builds, etc) so... any time my hands aren't on keyboard or mouse, my legs are moving, shifting weight back and forth, bending and walking around.  You'll be surprised, once you try it, just how much you move.  And yes, even while coding.

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