Sit-Stand Ratio Planner
Turn your workday and seated meeting hours into a clock-timed sitting and standing rotation with posture-change warnings.
About this tool
Sit-Stand Ratio Planner
Turn your workday and seated meeting hours into a clock-timed sitting and standing rotation with posture-change warnings.
The Sit-Stand Ratio Planner converts a workday length, fixed seated meeting hours and a daily standing target into a clock-timed rotation of sit and stand blocks. It follows the 2015 British Journal of Sports Medicine expert statement on sedentary office work, which advises desk-based staff to accumulate at least 2 hours a day of standing and light activity, progressing towards 4 hours. The plan keeps each stretch of standing and sitting inside the usual 60-minute posture-change guidance and shows the extra energy cost using the 0.15 kcal per minute difference measured in a 2018 meta-analysis.
How to use Sit-Stand Ratio Planner
- 1
Open Sit-Stand Ratio Planner on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
- 2
Enter Workday starts (24-hour clock), Workday length (hours at the desk) and Seated meeting hours.
- 3
Set your Standing target (hours per day), a Rotation cycle length (minutes) and When your meetings sit — Morning block, Around midday or Afternoon block.
- 4
Read the Standing per day total and the Your day, block by block table of Time, Posture and Length, then Copy plan.
Why use Sit-Stand Ratio Planner
Meeting-aware
Locks seated call time in place and rotates only the hours you actually control.
Guideline-anchored
Flags plans that fall short of 2 hours standing or that leave you seated over an hour at a stretch.
Calendar-ready
Produces real clock times you can paste into a calendar rather than a vague ratio.
Common use cases
- Fit a 2-hour standing target around three back-to-back seated calls in the middle of the day.
- Work out how long each standing stretch should be if you prefer a 30-minute rotation instead of an hourly one.
- Check whether an ambitious 5-hour standing goal actually fits your calendar before you buy a standing desk converter.
- Copy a block-by-block plan into your calendar so the reminders come from the calendar, not from willpower.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good sit-stand ratio at work?
There is no single proven ratio, but the 2015 BJSM expert statement recommends at least 2 hours of standing and light walking during an 8-hour working day, building up to 4 hours. On a 60-minute cycle that works out to roughly 15 minutes standing per hour to reach 2 hours, or 30 minutes per hour to reach 4 hours.
How long should I stand at a standing desk before sitting down again?
Aim for stretches of 20 to 40 minutes and change posture at least once an hour. Standing continuously beyond about an hour tends to increase lower-limb swelling and back discomfort, which is why this planner warns whenever a standing block runs past 60 minutes.
How many calories does standing burn compared with sitting?
About 0.15 kcal per minute more, according to a 2018 systematic review and meta-analysis in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. Two hours of extra standing therefore adds roughly 18 kcal — real but small, so treat a standing desk as a way to break up sitting rather than as a weight-loss tool.
Should I stand during meetings?
You can, but this planner assumes meeting time is seated because cameras, note-taking and shared desks often make standing impractical. If some calls can be taken standing or walking, subtract those hours from the seated meeting field and the rotation will loosen accordingly.