Daily Standing vs Sitting Time Planner
Turn your sitting log into a standing-time target
Standing time, sitting habits and common questions
Why bother tracking sitting vs standing time?
Long periods of sitting are linked to higher risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and earlier death, especially when combined with low physical activity. Breaking up sitting with standing and light movement helps your muscles and circulation work more often, even if it does not count as a workout.
Is standing all day automatically better than sitting?
Not really. Standing nonstop can stress joints, veins and lower back. Research more often points towards less total sitting and more frequent movement, not swapping sitting marathons for standing marathons. A mix of sitting, standing and walking, with regular breaks, tends to be more comfortable and sustainable.
How much should I stand in a day?
There is no single perfect number for everyone. Many workplace studies try to move people toward spending a noticeable chunk of their desk day on their feet or walking, while also meeting standard exercise guidelines. This planner lets you pick a standing share (for example, 30–50% of sitting+standing time) and see what that means in hours.
Does this replace exercise or step goals?
No. Standing and gentle walking help break up sedentariness, but they usually do not reach the intensity of moderate physical activity. Health guidelines still recommend getting at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week on top of sitting less and moving more.
What if I already have leg, back or vein problems?
If you have joint pain, varicose veins, balance issues, neuropathy or other conditions, standing longer might not feel good or be safe without guidance. In those cases, focus on gentle movement breaks and follow whatever your clinician or physical therapist recommends instead of forcing a big jump in standing time.
Do I need a standing desk for this to work?
Not necessarily. You can build in more standing and light movement with phone calls on your feet, trips to refill water, short walks between tasks, stretching breaks, and doing small chores instead of scrolling. A sit–stand desk can help, but it is just one tool.
How fast should I change my standing time?
It is usually easier to add a little at a time than to flip your day overnight. You might start by adding 30–60 minutes of extra standing or light walking spread across the day, see how your body feels, then adjust toward your target if it is comfortable.
How to use this daily standing vs sitting time planner
This planner is for people who think “I sit too much” but are not sure what to aim for. You log how much time you typically spend sitting and on your feet, choose a standing share that sounds realistic, and the tool returns a simple standing-time goal plus how much you might add.
1. Estimate your daily sitting time
In the first box, add roughly how many hours you spend mostly sitting on a typical day: desk work, driving, TV, gaming and scrolling. It does not need to be perfect; a rough average is fine. Many adults easily reach 6–8+ hours of sitting on workdays.
2. Estimate daily standing and light-moving time
In the second box, add time you spend on your feet but not doing workouts. That might include pottering around the house, walking to the printer, chatting in the kitchen, standing at a counter or using a sit–stand desk in its standing position.
3. Choose a target standing share
The third box is where you pick a target: what percentage of your combined sitting+standing time you would like to spend on your feet. For example, if you log 9 total hours and choose a 40% target, the planner will aim for about 3.6 hours of standing/light moving across the day.
4. Read your target and how much to add
When you tap Plan standing vs sitting time, the tool shows:
- Your logged sitting and standing/light-moving hours.
- Your current standing share as a percentage.
- A target standing time based on your chosen share.
- An estimate of how many extra standing/light-moving hours to add (or zero if you are already there).
You can rerun the numbers for different targets, or for different types of days such as office vs home.
5. Use the note and summary to build habits
The optional note box lets you tag the plan (for example, “office days”, “night shifts” or “weekend goal”). That note appears in the copyable summary, so you can paste the plan into a calendar, workplace agreement or habit tracker.
Remember that this planner is a nudge tool, not a rulebook. If you feel worse, more fatigued or in pain when you change your sitting and standing pattern, ease off and ask a clinician what pattern makes sense for you.
How the standing vs sitting time math works
The math is intentionally simple so you can check it with a notebook or your own spreadsheet. The aim is a clear standing-time target, not a complex model of health risk.
1. Add sitting and standing/light-moving time
First, the planner adds your sitting and standing/light-moving hours to get a total:
Total time = Sitting hours + Standing/light-moving hours
If the total is extremely low or extremely high for a day, the calculator asks you to adjust it.
2. Work out your current standing share
Next, it calculates the percentage of that time you are already spending on your feet:
Current standing share (%) = (Standing / Total) × 100
3. Apply your target standing share
Your chosen target is then applied to the same total:
Target standing hours = (Target share ÷ 100) × Total time
The planner keeps this within the bounds of your total time, so it will not suggest standing more hours than you logged for the whole day.
4. Compare target to your current standing time
Finally, the tool compares target standing hours with your logged standing hours:
Extra standing to add = Target standing hours − Current standing hours
If you are already at or above the target, the “extra to add” value is shown as zero.
All hours are kept as simple decimal numbers (for example, 1.5 hours instead of minutes) to keep the display clean. Health outcomes depend on many factors beyond these numbers, so treat them as a guide rather than a guarantee.
References and further reading on sitting, standing and sedentary behaviour
These resources discuss health risks of prolonged sitting and why sitting less and moving more is encouraged:
- NHS — Why we should sit less — explains how long periods of sitting affect metabolism and health, and recommends breaking up sitting with light activity.
- Mayo Clinic — Sitting risks: How harmful is too much sitting? — summarises research linking high sitting time with health risks and highlights the benefits of moving more during the day.
- World Health Organization — Physical activity and sedentary behaviour — outlines how sedentary behaviour and low physical activity both contribute to poorer health and why activity across the day matters.
Use these as background reading and combine them with personalised advice from your healthcare team, especially if you have heart disease, circulation issues, chronic pain or other conditions affecting how much you can stand and move.