FAQs

Since today's onslaught of students in our office ("do you have any more of those planner thingys") brought with it a maelstorm of questions, I thought I would take a few lines to address the most frequently asked of those:

Q: A treadmill desk in your office!  Really? In your office?

A: Yep, really, in my office.

Q: Does your boss know you have this in here?

A: Yep, my boss knows, and her boss knows, and his boss knows.  So short of a trustee dropping in and voicing a loud objection - I think I am good to go.  

Q: Do you walk on that all day long?
A: I walk on it when I can. Today I did 4.44 miles and 3 hours worth of office work aboard the tread.  Tomorrow I am packed with meeting after meeting -- so will probably only get in an hour.

Q: Don't you ever just want to sit down?
A: Not really. I actually feel very energized, productive, and focused -- whatever antsy-fidgety-doodle in the margin-link clicking part of me that often emerges when I sit, seems to have to just go along for the ride when I am walking.  Today I had to sign 300+ letters and while I could probably have signed them atop the desk, it was more practical to do it at the table.

Q: How fast do you walk?
A: 1.4 mph @ a 5% incline

Q: What kind of shoes do you wear?
A: Pretty much whatever I wear to work.  Yesterday 2" high clogs, today flats.  When I work at my home treadmill desk, I wear my treadmill tennis shoes (I bought them as a getting started present to myself last September).

Q: Don't you get dizzy?
A: Not anymore.  I did after the first day, but since then I am not bothered by the movement  plus reading or typing or writing.  As a person who still gets carsick as a adult, this is a monumental feat.

Q: Doesn't your office stink?
A: I don't think so.  Of course it is winter, so the office is a bit chilly.  Come spring and summer I might have to dial down the mph and incline to make it all work.

Q: Can I use your treadmill desk?
A: Absolutely.  However, you might have to fight off C or P who have dibs on the lunch hour.  I am always gone for an hour @ 9am so if you want to give it a go -- come on over.  If you want to use a laptop, bring one along -- I am wired for all.  (aside: When B helped me bring it into the building (under duress I might add), he suggested that I put it in the break room (does my building have a one of those?) so that everyone could use it.  He's missing the point on its purpose.)

Hope this clears up any unanswered questions.  Please stop by if you can, and as GBC regularly said to folks he encountered in his day "have an effective day."

An end to the discombobulation

I will start this post by publicly admitting that B was not very excited about helping me move Treadmill Desk 3.0 to its new home in my new office at my new job. It was only after two days of talking about it, a several hours of reassurance that if my new boss thought it was a bad idea, I would move it home. I had, however, done my homework. I measured the space, I played with floor plans (see earlier posts), and I cleared it by the appropriate folks. Since our larger office must meet ADA minimum clearances, I knew I could get it from the car to the office. It cleared all thresholds without incident. After the 2nd picture, B left. I think he still isn't sure this is a great idea. So here is a commentary on the set up from left to right. I will also add my panoramic video to the column on the right.

1. Space
2. Wheeling Pro-Form in to position
3. Foam insulation to put between tread and floor (although I am lucky enough to have a storage room below me, rather than a person).
4. Treadmill mat over the top of the insulation to hold it in position and to provide further quieting.
5. Done -- this part took me a whopping 5 or so minutes (I have not counted the time to get it in the car, drive to work, get it in the building, up the elevator, etc.)
6. Another view of the treadmill desk workspace.

7. I then added a pre-cut 3' piece of shelf board.
8. It is held in place with three bungee cords.
9. Underneath view of the bungees.
10. I added a 3' long kitchen shelf (for traditional use above one's kitchen sink). It is clamped in place
11. A piece of plexiglass rests between the kitchen shelf and the front of the treadmill controls.
12. Another view of the plexi. I rest my laptop on the plexi and use a wireless keyboard and mouse on the shelf below. Ergonomically it works great.

So, as all can imagine, I am psyched to head to work tomorrow morning and jump on first thing to help get me focused for the day ahead.

Project Treadmill Desk - Day 8

So today is day 8 - actually day 7 of walking - but day 8 since I began.   A colleague sent me, I think as a joke, the New York Times article about treadmill desks .  Feeling particularly bored or industrious (you decide), I built a treadmill desk of my own.  After clamping a shelf board to my treadmill handlebars and feeding the cords of all my gadgets through the cup holders, I was up and walking.  Since then I have walked 39.5 miles @ 1.2 mph.  On average I have walked for 4.36 hours per day, covered 5.65 miles, and burnt 661.83 calories.  In the first week I have lost 5 pounds and find myself being much better about drinking water than I ever have in the past.  So here's to week 2 -- off and walking!