This Apple Shortcut Finally Got Me to Use My Standing Desk

::: ⚠️: You’re gonna have to do some Terminal stuff, so if this is not your kind of thing, probably better to stop reading now. :::

For years I had a standing desk at work, and I used it constantly. It was one of those fancy motorized desks where you tap a button and the whole thing glides up or down.

Then I started working from home.

My home setup was much simpler. I bought a big IKEA tabletop and turned it into a regular desk. No motor. No standing option. Just a solid place to work.

After a while I missed having the ability to stand, so I bought a cheap IKEA standing desk and put it next to my main setup.

In theory it solved the problem but in practice, I almost never used it.

The issue turned out to be my monitor.

My main desk is built around a 49-inch ultrawide display, and the resolution is tuned for sitting distance. Everything looks great from my chair.
But when I moved to the standing desk, I was farther away from the screen. Suddenly everything felt too small. Text was harder to read and the UI felt cramped.

Technically I could fix this by manually changing the display resolution every time I switched desks. I did it maaaaaaaybe 3 times before it was too annoying to ever do it again. There was just no way I was gonna be opening display settings several times a day.

So I never did it.

The fix was simple: I used Apple Shortcuts to switch my monitor resolution automatically when I switch between sitting and standing.
Now it takes about one second and because it’s not as annoying to change the monitor I actually use the standing desk.

The Idea

I created two Apple Shortcuts for switching between standing and sitting modes.

Standing Mode
Switches my monitor to a larger resolution that’s easier to read from farther away.

Sitting Mode
Restores my normal resolution.

Each shortcut runs a small command that changes the display configuration instantly.

What Makes This Work

macOS doesn’t let Apple Shortcuts directly control display resolution, which is kind of annoying. Anyway, to solve that, I used a small command-line tool called DisplayPlacer. [Github project here]

DisplayPlacer lets you control display settings from Terminal, including resolution, scaling, and layout. Once you capture your display configuration, you can restore it with a single command.

In this scenario Displayplacer takes something like a screenshot(ha!) of your display settings, which you can recall with a Shortcut. That’s why you have to set the resolution before you run the DisplayPlacer command.

That makes it perfect for this kind of automation.

Step 1: Install Homebrew

If you don’t already have Homebrew installed, open Terminal and run:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)”

Homebrew is just a package manager for macOS that makes installing tools easy.

Step 2: Install DisplayPlacer

Next install DisplayPlacer:

brew install displayplacer
That’s the only tool needed for the setup.

Step 3: Capture Your Display Configurations

First set your monitor to the resolution you want when sitting.

Then run:
displayplacer list

The output will include a long command that starts with something like:
displayplacer "id:…”

Copy that line and save it. That command represents your current display configuration.

Next change your monitor to the larger resolution you want while standing.

Run the command again:
displayplacer list

Copy the new command.

You should now have two commands:
• one for sitting
• one for standing

Step 4: Create the Apple Shortcuts

Open the Shortcuts app on macOS.
Create two shortcuts.

Standing Mode
Add the action:

Run Shell Script
Paste your standing configuration command.

Sitting Mode
Create another shortcut and paste the sitting configuration command.
Now each shortcut instantly switches your display configuration.

Important: Make sure you set the script to BASH and run it as an admin.

Step 5: Trigger Them Quickly

The key to making this useful is triggering the shortcuts easily.

You can:
• assign keyboard shortcuts
• run them from Spotlight
• trigger them with Raycast or Alfred
• pin them in the Dock (this is what I do)

Now when I move to the standing desk, I trigger Standing Mode and the display becomes larger and easier to read.

When I sit down again, I trigger Sitting Mode and everything switches back.

What the Setup Looks Like

The standing desk is an Ikea Mittzon and it has easy manual controls for raising and lower (you press the foot pedal). You can also change the angle of the top for when you’re just in laptop mode. I can’t remember the name of the mat, but I bought it off Amazon a few years back.

The Result

This turned out to be a small automation that fixed a surprisingly annoying problem. Before, using the standing desk meant digging through display settings. Now it takes one shortcut.

And because it’s effortless, I actually use the desk.