The popularity of standing desks is well known by now – they have innumerable health benefits and take up less space in the office overall, among other things. But what should people look for when they are looking for a desk? There is so much to consider, up to and including whether it should be a standing desk or not. Desks come in all shapes and sizes and are dependent on what you do. You need to ask yourself about your needs. That will influence your choice more than anything else.
How much space do you have?
This is the first question you need to ask yourselves – how much space do you have. A follow-up question to that is how are you going to use that space? If you don’t have a lot of space, then that will affect the size of the desk you are going to be able to get. This is one advantage of a standing desk – it doesn’t take up much room.
Corner desks are popular for people who don’t have a lot of room, because they maximize the maximized space, and give you room to maneuver. Smaller desks are always available, but people who use them have to compromise on storage space, as well as less space overall.
Do you want to stand up?
Do you want to stand up, or sit down? One of the easiest ways to fix this problem is by having a desk that can do both – it is easy to build your own adjustable standing desk. An adjustable desk means that you have choices when it comes to how to do your work overall – sometimes you might not feel like standing. Other times you might not feel like sitting.
If the desk is in a communal area, this might also affect the choice. Not everybody can stand for prolonged periods of time. Not everyone wants to. Buying a desk which can be adjusted between standing and sitting allows for options. This means that buying a desk which is able to switch between standing and sitting is the best option for cost effectiveness.
What work do you do?
What kind of work do you do at your desk? This is probably the biggest problem when it comes to finding a desk. What kind of work you do affects the space you need, and the overall space that the desk will take up.
Do you work purely online, or will you need some space for physical documents? If you work online, then you just need a small, fairly simple desk. If you do work which involves physical documents, then you will need more space for them to be on your desk, especially if there are a lot, and you need to refer to them often.
How much storage space do you need?
How much storage space you need will impact the size of the desk you use. As was said previously, if you work purely online, then you don’t need storage space, except possibly if you have a tower sitting at your desk, instead of just a monitor, or an entire computer within a monitor. If you work offline, then you will need storage space of some kind, though how big is something which only you can decide.
Storage space obviously takes up space, and it is something that needs to be taken into account. Maybe the desk is something that can be kept small, and all storage space kept somewhere else if that is possible.
What material should your desk be made of?
Desks come in different materials, and in different finishes. These materials can be good for one person’s desk, but not for another. It all depends on where the desk is, and what it is normally used for. Wood is the normal choice for most desks, but it can be expensive and heavy, and in some cases, it isn’t a good choice. Plastic is another choice, but there is a limit to the weight it can carry.
Metal is another popular choice for desks, and they can be very useful if you have a lot of heavy equipment to carry or to use on a daily basis. Unfortunately, this also makes them extremely heavy and unwieldy, which can be a problem if you ever need to move the desk.
What quality is the desk?
How high quality is the desk? This is important. Lower quality means lower prices, but it also means a shorter lifespan. When it fails you’ll be back to square one again. Higher quality, on the other hand, means a longer lifespan and a better desk all around. Unfortunately, this does come with a higher price tag.
It depends on what you value. Are you willing to splurge now, for a desk which will serve you for longer? Or do you want to get a cheap desk, and hope it holds together for as long as you need it to?
