Four days and feeling less like a zoo animal

Yesterday I was walking in the later part of the afternoon/evening on my treadmill desk, when I noticed some shadows of folks outside of my window. I'm sure they didn't see me or if they did, certainly didn't care -- but it creeped me out enough that I drew the blinds. I felt too much like a zoo animal, but it wasn't enough to stop my walk. A docking station with monitor, keyboard, and mouse have been ordered for my office, but since the items have yet to arrive, the treadmill desk set-up is the best option in terms of ergonomics. But by mid-day today the zooiness (is that a word?) of yesterday seemed to be diminishing. As a campus tour cruised by, I kept right on trekking, knowing full well that at least one parent took a double take. My sense of productivity, whether real or imagined, is palpable. Syllabi, one training camp schedule draft, two letters, and one advisee questionnaire written, along with 5 advisee folders read; sprinkled in with advisee meetings, impromptu visits, and other office work - I feel like I am running, not walking, ahead of the game. I am sure the onset of the semester will knock me back in to reality. I am happy, for now, to stroll along @ 1.4mph, but feeling as though I am sprinting along effortlessly at 7.0.

Watch a video of my office panoramic 

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.

Virtual workplace acclimatization

So probably the most daunting part about transitioning to my new job is carving out a space that I can feel at home in and do my best work. I am anxious to get my move on so to speak, but due to the holiday - I kind of need to wait. In the meantime I have played around with some free floor planning software, which has a 3d tool so I can design what seems like a good plan and try to acclimatize myself through the virtual medium. I am pleased to discover based on the dimensions and my configuring that I can probably set up my office in such a way as to include both the gargantuous L shaped desk (that I think is probably stuck in the office for life) and my treadmill desk without it feeling too cramped. I am thinking of ways to insulate the undercarriage of my treadmill so that the person whose office is directly below mine and the one whose office is adjacent to mine won't be completely irritated and bothered by my quirky idiosyncrasies. I hope to have three distinct work spaces -- sit down desk, tread desk, and side table for working one-on-one with students. I am hoping that my arrival will model the myriad of environments that one can seamlessly work between.

5:30am wake up call

So when the kids said they were getting up REALLY EARLY they weren't kidding.  Lucky for me - I didn't hear them at all and once B heard them he told them to go downstairs and fall back asleep.  When I woke around 7ish, B was asleep and to my surprise both boys were crashed on the couches near the fireplace.  They slept for another good half hour.  By 8:30 they had discovered their big gifts by accident -- we didn't hide them very well and they were upstairs playing pool together (with their new pool cues that they had opened on Christmas Eve) when they noticed their big gifts.  We had: 1) not accounted for new pool cues from G'pa the night before, 2) that they would be anywhere besides right next to the gift laden tree, and 3) that you could see the big gifts if you were patiently sitting on a stool waiting for your turn in pool.  As it turns out is was a blessing in disguise.  While we waited for G'pa to come over after church, B and G'ma watched a movie, and I got the sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes started.  The big gifts kept the boys occupied until we were all assembled and ready to do the stockings and the tree. It was a quiet day that is now being put to rest with a few miles on the treadmill desk, listening to some new Christmas songs, and watching the boys ACTIVELY play Mario Smash Brothers for the Wii.  I'm going to head in to my new office tomorrow to take it all in and start playing around with a good layout.  With two windows in the opposite corner from the door, I have to figure out a way to capitalize on an office with natural light (the first time in 16 1/2 years) and views, while facing the door.  I hate having my back to the door and with a ginormous L shaped desk, I am somewhat limited in where the desk can go so my creativity is going to have to kick it in to high gear.  I am so excited to start my new job with awesome co-workers who have similar passions and energy for student learning.

Advertisers beware

For whatever reason my blog has recently attracted the attention of advertisers who are hoping to make a quick buck with free web space.  I am of the mindset that my blog isn't the place for treadmill advertisements.  In fact, I would recommend the opposite for folks that are curious about whether a treadmill desk is right for them.  I would suggest if you are investigating this as a possible activity for your home or professional office that you look for a cheap treadmill either on Craigslist or in your local paper or better yet borrow one from a friend.  The combined cost for the TWO treadmills I have is LESS THAN $200.  The apparati to transform them in to desks came from scraps in my garage.  You do not need to spend in excess of $2000 (advertiser #1) or $479 plus shipping from the UK (advertiser #2) to make this work for you.  If you are an advertiser - beware - I will either delete your comment or suggest workarounds for my readers.

Treadmill Desk 3.0

So here is my Treadmill Desk 3.0 - the model I will take to work and with which I will make all my co-workers jealous. It was easier than 1.0 or 2.0 (see earlier posts 9/29 & 10/13) due to the parallel-to-the-ground handlebars. I was able to easily bungee the white shelf board in place. I used an old over-the-sink shelf (clamped in place) and a piece of plexiglass to create a second floating shelf for my laptop. It is a smaller and much quieter unit than the 595le, so will fit better in to my expected use of it at work. In the interim (between now and when I return to work), I will use the ProForm 420.  Hopefully my excitement about my new tread won't overshadow the great progress I continue to make - losing 10.5 lbs. and 8.5".  I have updated my progress report in the right column and will add additional pictures tomorrow.

Wowsie! Early Birthday Present

So since about the first full week, I have begun worrying or wondering or wrangling with the idea of how to recreate my treadmill desk at work once I return from my sabbatical on Jan. 20.  I had thought about getting a Tread Desk; but with the economy as it is, I didn't think that this would be a good use of our family resources.  It also seemed quite unlikely that my employer would be willing to splurge for one for similar reasons.  I began to check Craigslist in hopes of finding a used tread that I could jury rig for use at work. While the kids were out and about with a friend today, B and I ran a few errands - including a trip to Sears.  And even though we weren't thinking about making any big purchases -- the huge sale, plus the 10% off Sears' cardholders (6-9pm Sunday night), plus 5% for the floor model, which was already on clearance had us driving home with a ProForm 420 in the back of our truck for under $175.  "Happy birthday," B said.  I thanked him and rode home with a smile ear to ear - overjoyed that one outstanding task could be crossed off my prepare-to-return-from-sabbatical list.  The set up was quite easy.  I will post pictures tomorrow of my newest setup.  If you are in the market for a treadmill, I would strongly encourage you to cruise by your local Sears store tomorrow and see if they have any ProForms on clearance.  I previously had the 595le, which will be my home office desk.  The 420 is tons quieter and will go back to work with me in January.  Yeah!
(post note: I think the sale at Sears continues today)

Ergonomics Revisited

So after a week of trying out my new ergonomically friendly set-up, I am pleased to report that the negative tilt keyboard has been a great addition.  I left the mouse on the other section.  Initially I thought that I might need to move it as well, due to pain throughout my middle deltoid.  As it turns out, the pain was related to the flu shot I had received earlier in the week and has since resolved.  I have a piece of plexiglass that fits over the cutout; so, when I return to work in January, I will be able to put the plexi down to then create a space for grading papers, etc.

More on ergonomics

I'm back to the drawing board, literally, in that I am once again working out the bugs as I work toward perfect 'puter gadget positioning for someone of my height - 64".  While I have been able to find many sites about the best ergonomical positions for sitting posture, diagrams illustrating good standing desk posture are a bit more illusive.  I did find an excellent website at Cornell University that guides you through proper positioning.  I figure the only difference is what is happening below my waist.  So I am experimenting with a floating negative tilt keyboard tray.  I have attached it to the bottom of my lower desk section with four little ropes that I can adjust until I find the perfect height.  I still have my mouse on the main desk, but will play around with whether it needs adjusting as well.  Right now the keyboard is not actually visible, as it sits below the desk, but I think with a cutout and a plexiglass overlay (yep - I actually have spare plexiglass laying about from a craft project from a few years back) it will all work seamlessly.  This new design also allows me to postion my mouse just about anywhere - including dead center of the keyboard.  I read on the Cornell site that the closer to your midline the better and the more akin to normal hand carrying angle the better, so I have wedged the mouse pad so that my hand rest on the mouse just as it would without the mouse.  I am going to try this new design for a few days and then I will report how it is going.

Treadmill Desk Set-Up 2.0

Alright here is an updated picture of my adjusted set up. I also want to reiterate that no money was spend for this set up. I had all this stuff lying around my house - scrap wood, unused wireless keyboard, shelf board, bungee cord, light, 2 sets of clamps. It is hard to tell from this picture but the keyboard is supported with a little ledge, which holds it in place at an incline and the little platform for the mouse creates a parallel-to-the-floor surface for easier mousing and less stress on my hand and wrist.

Ergonomics

After posting my treadmill desk pictures on the Office Walkers site, I noticed several posts indicating that it would be best to have a monitor that is separate from your computer (particularly if you are using a laptop) so that your screen is at the appropriate ergonomic eye level.  So adjusted my shelf boards a bit so that my laptop is on a shelf clamped to the top of my treadmill.  I hooked up a spare wireless keyboard that I had lying around and it rests on the lower shelf.  So far, so good -- no neck pain, eye strain, or anything else.  I still need to create a better place for my mouse to rest.  The keyboard is on a bit of an incline, which works great -- but I think I need a more level surface for my mouse.

My Office

So here is my set-up.  As you can see it has all the bells and whistles of a normal desk set up including bookshelf, desktop, garbage can, worker, etc.  Additionally, I have two cup holders, which usually contain glasses of water, cups of coffee, or my phone.    I fed the cords of my laptop through the bottom of the left cupholder.  I have had no problems with the cords getting in my way. The ledge at the top, which I think is traditionally used for holding a book or something has become the catchall for desk junk -- headphones, cell phone, pens, post-it notes, and iPod.  While I have ample space on top, I am working on several projects, so I have moved a good many books to the floor.  I have been able to easily reach them without stopping.