I priced standing desk converters online and the cheapest one with decent reviews was a hundred and eighty dollars. For a platform that literally just sits on top of your existing desk. I refused to pay that. So I built one. It took a trip to the hardware store and about forty minutes. It is still on my desk two years later.

The shelf-bracket method

Buy a pine shelf board from the lumber section. A 48-inch by 12-inch board costs about fifteen dollars and is wide enough for a laptop plus a monitor. Buy four metal L-brackets large enough to lift the shelf to a comfortable standing typing height for me that was ten-inch brackets which put the shelf at about elbow height when I stand.

Screw the brackets to the shelf first, then set the whole thing on your desk. Some people screw the brackets into the desk too, but I left mine free-standing so I can slide it off when I want to sit. The weight of the monitor and laptop keeps it stable. It has never tipped.

The cinderblock version (no tools needed)

Two cinder blocks on their sides with a board laid across the top. That is the entire build. Cinder blocks cost about two dollars each at any hardware store. The board can be anything flat: a shelf, a piece of plywood, even a sturdy cardboard box in a pinch.

This setup is not pretty. It looks like a college dorm solution, which it is. But it costs under ten dollars and requires zero tools. If you are testing whether a standing desk works for you before spending real money, start here.

What height is right

Your elbows should be at roughly ninety degrees when your hands are on the keyboard. Your monitor should be at eye level so you are not tilting your head down. If the shelf puts the monitor too low, stack a couple of books under it. If the keyboard height is good but the monitor is too high, nothing you can do about that easily just aim for good typing posture first.

I added a cheap anti-fatigue mat after the first week because standing on a hard floor in socks makes your feet ache after twenty minutes. A kitchen mat works fine. Ten dollars at the discount store. Stand on a folded yoga mat if you have one. Anything that cushions slightly beats concrete.

Do not stand all day

The health benefit is not from standing it is from changing positions regularly. Standing for eight hours is as bad for you as sitting for eight hours. Alternate every thirty to forty-five minutes. I set a timer and switch between standing and sitting throughout the day. The timer also reminds me to move if I have been standing in one spot too long.