Damn desks

I promised to blog about my feelings towards desks so here they are. Ok, I’m not a fan. I try to avoid desks whenever possible. Sure, they are great for putting things on, but I avoid sitting at a desk as much as possible. Why? They drain all the buzz of life out of you in my opinion. Actually, it’s proven that sitting for long periods of time can also be bad for your mental health as well as your physical health. The reasons why I particularly dislike desks rather than sitting I think I can sum up in 5 points.

1. They encourage you towards inactivity. Being sat at a desk can be addictive in a strange way. The desk becomes your ‘home’ for the working day. *action < I get up from my desk to get a cup of tea and then return to my desk >*. The banal nature of being sat at a desk drains your energy, your creativity and focuses you entirely on (most likely) your electronic devices, thus the world around you disappears. Try working on the floor, stand up or sit at your dining room table. You are more likely to keep moving your body this way.

2. They make everything so formal! I hate teaching from behind a table. Particularly as I teach drama. Which is about connections. Why would I want a desk blocking me from making these connections? They are a barrier to personality (I tend to think people get too power driven from behind a desk but put them on the floor they start behaving like a human being). So yeah, desks don’t let us connect.

3. Most people think worrying about desks is trivial. I beg to differ and here’s why. They are introduced to children far too young and thus become normalised. But children should not be sitting at desks to learn in my opinion. Ever notice that children who start school have tons of energy but a couple of years in that energy starts to wane? I believe a large part of that is due to them have to sit at desks for too long, so reducing their energy and buzz for life. Classrooms should have portal desks, not the ones prevalent in most classrooms which dominate the space.

4. Posture! Sitting isn’t always bad for your posture but sat at a desk you can almost guarantee your posture will suffer. I have to do yoga daily to counteract my poor posture from computer work. Notice how everyone always complains about sore shoulders?? That’s mostly desks…..

5. They make you look down constantly, whereas I would encourage you to look up. This is very philosophical but the nature of looking down causes us to go inward, feel more anxiety and basically stops us from being present. By looking up more often, you take in the world around you, which makes you more present and ultimately keeps you calm in this crazy, work driven world.

So with that in mind, I’m getting off my device, getting up from my dining room table, and getting out in the garden for some fresh air and movement. Thanks for reading.