As part of an agile scrum team, or whatever you want to call it, a lot of developers and testers etc. have a morning “huddle” where the team get together. This is usually in the morning before people start getting into their flow and to try and avoid interruptions. It allows for the typical type points of “what I did yesterday”, “what I’m planning on doing today” and “what blockers or impediments do I have”. Now I won’t go into the whys and wherefores of all of this as this isn’t the point of this article.

So what is the point?

The point is that the ceremony means usually everyone gets up and walks to a common place in the office. Some location where there are less distractions, people aren’t tempted to look at their phones or read their email while others are talking. But more importantly it makes people get up out of their chairs and walk away from their desks. Now this doesn’t seem like too much of a “thing” however when you’re in a job where a majority of the day is sitting at a desk this is important to get the blood flowing.

As of March 2020 a lot of developers and testers etc. as well as other professionals have been working from home but continuing the meetings. I know I was sent home and continued with “stand ups” every morning. Did you still stand up for them? I know I didn’t. I just joined yet another MS Teams meeting or Zoom call and sat at my desk.

After a while I realised I wasn’t standing up for stand up. I wasn’t fully concentrating on the call as I would in the office. It was just “another” meeting. Due to this I started making an effort. I adjusted my webcam, which is central between my duel monitors upwards, and I stood up for the meeting. It meant I couldn’t reach my keyboard. I couldn’t be distracted. But most of all I got up and stretched!

Once I had got into the cadence of doing this every day I started thinking more towards a standing desk. I thought they were cool and an interesting idea but couldn’t justify the cost. A few puzzle pieces moved into place and it financially became viable so I took the plunge. The transition of the moving from sitting to standing at Scrum time is the beginning of my stand for the day. This allows for stretching and movement.

So each day now I get the Outlook reminder that it’s time for my teams stand up, I push the “stand” button on my desk and move my chair out of the way.

Try it. You might like it!

#StandupForStandup

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